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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28882404">Unexpected, But Not Unwelcome - SWTOR</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/RayneTheWolf108/pseuds/RayneTheWolf108'>RayneTheWolf108</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Strange Adventures [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars Legends: The Old Republic (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>AU, Dual wielding is cool, F/M, Forbidden Love, JK and Theron already know each other, Mutual Pining, Pirates, Planet Rishi (Star Wars), Star Wars: The Old Republic - Shadow of Revan, The JK story does not exist in this AU, Togrutas (Star Wars), Varacytl</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-22</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 08:02:25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>22,455</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28882404</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/RayneTheWolf108/pseuds/RayneTheWolf108</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>"You know, when you asked to meet with me, I was expecting a drink and catching up. Not... this." She waved her hands at him.</p><p>"I know it's crazy but I got a feeling."</p><p>----</p><p>Kaasha Lok, New Jedi Knight, 23, receives a call from an old friend, asking her out for a drink. Next thing she knew she was caught up in a coalition between her, a sith, a secret agent, and a Wookiee. Not the best start to her career, but who knows?</p><p> </p><p>*STORY BETTER THAN SUMMARY*</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Female Jedi Knight | Hero of Tython/Theron Shan, Lana Beniko &amp; Female Jedi Knight | Hero of Tython, Lana Beniko &amp; Theron Shan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Strange Adventures [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2118144</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. First Meeting</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em> <strong>3646 BBY</strong> </em>
</p><hr/><p> </p><p>She was only 16 when they first met, and it had been by complete random chance. She and her Master, Orgus, were on Coruscant for the time being about rumors of an assassination planned for a beloved senator. He happened to be one of the SIS agents on the investigtion.</p><p>It was his name that caught her attention: Theron <em>Shan</em>. She'd heard rumors from younglings and other padawans that Satele had fell in love long ago and that she had a child, but there was no proof. And no one ever brought it up to the Grandmaster; out of fear possibly or worry that they would be questioned for their train of thought. He wasn't much older than her, 4-5 years at most.</p><p>It was just a guess at first, and she didn't realize until she had spoken that she had asked the young man in front of everyone if he held relation to the Jedi Grandmaster. The furrow of his brow and mutters of 'I need a codename' gave her the answer she needed. It drew her to him, out of curiosity. He could confirm the rumors amongst the youth at the temple, and she could have some of the lingering questions answered.</p><p>So following the debrief of the plan, she had stopped him before he could leave; and she might as well have interrogated him about his bloodline. She sensed much annoyance and what felt like jealousy rolling off him, and when she went to ask another question, he snapped at her. It caught the attention of everyone in the immediate vicinity; making the two fall silent. Her lekku had darked in shame, but before she could apologize, Orgus had called her over, and so she had nothing to do but leave.</p><p>Kaasha did not see him for a few days. She and Orgus had been instructed to remain by the Senator's side until the assassin had been caught or made their move. It came during the middle of the senate meeting. Orgus stood by the entrance to the Senator's place, while Kaasha stood by her side with the Senator's personal guard. Just as the senator was making his speech, the guard let out a yelp, and fell to the ground, unmoving. Shouts of shock and horror surrounded them as the Padawan drew her blade. </p><p>The dead guard had a dart sticking out of their neck, but there was no time to examine it while the immediate threat was still there. Kaasha hurried herself and the Senator away, her green blade humming at her side. </p><p>With all of the panicked senators and bystanders scrambling out, she was unable to find the assassin until he was almost on top of her. Just as they made it the corridor that led to the exit, the assassin, a Mandalorian, leaped from the second story, intent on catching her by surprise. Her montrals were developed enough to alert her moments before, but not enough to allow her to get out the way. A heavy weight landed on her, knocking her saber from her hand, the blade rolling a few feet away.</p><p>Stuck on her stomach, with a foot on her neck, she was unable to do much as she watched the Senator scramble away while the assassin took aim. A shot fired, grazing the Mandalorian's arm. They grunted, and the weight shifted on her neck, and then it was gone. She pushed herself up, seeing the assassin ducking for cover behind statues, and shooting at their attacker.</p><p>Kaasha didn't look to see who had saved her life, and more importantly the Senator's, rather opting to dive for her lightsaber. When the hum of the blade reached the assassin's ears, they were unable to hide the fear that glowed from them. She had given a vicious smile, and moved slowly towards him, blocking his fire, deflecting the bolts into the walls. Once she was 5 feet away, they sped away with their jetpack to the second floor.</p><p>Only then did she take the time to see who her savior was, and she was surprised to see it was Theron. She was expecting an agent, yes, but the one she had pestered not a week ago? No.</p><p>She only took a few seconds to meet his eyes and give him a nod of gratitude before she took a running start towards the balcony. With the force aiding her, she leapt to the second floor with ease, disappearing down the hallway.</p><p>Turns out she didn't need to, for when she got to the roof, the Mandalorian was unconscious with a blaster cut in half a few feet away. Master Orgus stood there with his blade in hand, but his stance relaxed when he saw it was her. She was relieved to see her Master was well, and even more happy to see the assassin caught.</p><p>Kneeling beside them, she placed a light hand on their back. "How long will they be out? Also, got any cuffs? Shouldn't really risk them running away." She spoke as she removed the jetpack from their back and tossed it away from her, out of arms reach.</p><p>"Got you covered." Theron's voice made her look up to see him in the doorway, taking out some cuffs and locking the assassin's arm behind their back. "Nice work." He gave her a side glance, directing the praise to her.</p><p>"Thank Master Orgus, I missed the fight entirely." She hummed amused. But then she paused for a second, a thoughtful look on her face, then her orange eyes turned to him. "Thank you. For earlier." She spoke softly, dipping her head in gratitude.</p><p>"Eh, what kind of agent would I be if I let the assassin succeed? You just happened to be there too." His response put her off and she turned away from him, walking up to Orgus. </p><p>"Should we proceed to tell the Senate that the conflict is resolved?"</p><p>Her master shook his head, a fond smile on his lips. "No, we'll let the SIS do their job. It's time for us to return to Tython. I hear we're heading to Utapau." The mention of her home planet made the Padawan perk up.</p><p>"Really? I thought you said-"</p><p>"I've got to keep you on your toes." He gave her a wicked grin, and she laughed. The two Jedi left when more agents and guards arrived to take the Mandalorian into custody. Passing by Theron she gave him a side glane with a neutral face before hurrying after her teacher.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>They met up again on the fleet, a few months later. She was with her master's droid, T7-01, whom she might as well have adopted as they were rarely apart; she was searching for parts to crafter a lightsaber hilt, and some food for a varacytl she had found. When she had originally found the creature, it had an injured leg from a fight, and was refusing to let anyone near it for fear of attack. She had used the force to help calm the creature, and treated them, wrapping the leg up and making sure the wound would not be infected.</p><p>She hadn't thought much of it at the time, but then the longer she stayed on Utapau with Orgus, the more she would see the creature from the corner of her eye, following her. Curious, she went into a clearing without other people, where the Varacytl approached her. He was young, a young adult at oldest, with a green coat and a teal mane across his back.</p><p>It took a few hours argument with the Council, but they gave in when they saw that the Varacytl was unwilling to leave the Padawan. They allowed for her to care for the creature, as a companion, however he was not allowed within the temple.</p><p>Kaasha had to do much research to make sure she knew what she needed in order to take care of the creature, whom she affectionately called Broga. Which led her to the fleet, where all goods from several planets could be found in the same space. She hoped that they had what she needed, because she was not a fan of traveling through the markets on planets. Found them a little too overwhelming with the noise that would echo louder in her head than what it was actually; and people shouting about their goods and trying to manipulate one into buying. Here it was quieter and the store owners left the people alone, letting the customers come to them.</p><p>It took a few hours, but she and T7 ended up with much of the supplies needed for Broga ordered, and she had managed to find some good lightsaber parts for the second saber she was constructing. The things, such as food and grooming supplies, that she had gotten for Broga would take a short while to package and get ready, so the two headed for the cantina to relax for the time being. </p><p>She didn't grab a drink, just a small pastry and sat down at a nearby table. The treat was a bit too sweet to her, and the flavor was strong, but she overall found it delicious. Discussing what they needed to do next, she paused when she sensed a familiar signature. Her eyes looked around, where she caught a glimpse of brown hair and implants. Internally she sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.</p><p>It was foolish to think she'd never see him again, even if it was in passing. And yet it still surprised her. A beeping from her holo broke her thought process. She dug it out and placed it on the table, accepting the call from whomever needed to speak with her.</p><p>It was the Grandmaster.</p><p>She stuttered out a hello, glancing to Theron from the corner of her eye, who was now at the bar, sipping on a drink. "Grandmaster? Has something happened?"</p><p>The older woman bowed her head. "I'm afraid so. Have you seen Master Orgus since his departure to Alderaan?" When the Togruta shook her head, Satele sighed. "I assumed so. We recieved a holo from him 2 days ago, we fear he is in trouble." Her heart dropped in her chest and her eyes fell to look at her hands, which were lightly shaking. </p><p>"... Is there anything I can do?" She whispered.</p><p>"Return to Tython. We can debrief you about what Master Orgus was doing. Then you may go and find him. We sense he is still alive, but we are unsure about his disappearance." The Grandmaster ended the call there, leaving Kaasha alone with her thoughts. She let her head fall into her hands, her heart beating so loud it felt like it had traveled to her brain. Her chest was tight and she felt a small sting in her head, but she shook the feeling away. No, Orgus was alive, at least for now.</p><p>"I take it the chat with the Grandmaster didn't go well?" A voice came from next to her. She didn't even bother to look up, too consumed in her thoughts. Kaasha simply nodded. "Credit for your thoughts?"</p><p>"Master Orgus is missing." She mumbled. T7 beeped beside her, nudging her leg. She looked at the droid, and placed a hand on his head affectionately. "Yeah, you're right T7. We should get moving." She stood, moving past Shan with ease and making her way to the stairs to head for her departure.</p><p>She left without a goodbye, but she felt his eyes on her back.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>She could kiss him. Jedi Code be damned, she could kiss that man.</p><p>When she had gone to Alderaan, there was almost no trace of where her master was, which resulted in a 3-day long goose chase. Orgus was sent here to aid with the destruction of restricted weapon known as the Death Mark, a project the Empire had stolen from them and were planning to use it for mass genocide of any Republic allies on the planet.</p><p>When she had arrived on Alderaan, there were many calling to her for aid, and a request was made from Organa palace for her aid. She knew Orgus would be furious if she had neglected the needs of others for him, so she helped as best she could, while at the same time searching for her master.</p><p>She had no clue where to look until she had gotten a holo message from an unknown sender with simply a name: Count Alde. She had little to lose from going off of this information, so she searched for the Count.</p><p>It did not end well. The Count was killed by the weapon, and the scientist with him was too terrified to speak any more. The scientist made her uneasy, but she was unsure what to do after that. Her only option was to go to the research labs, but they were infested with Killiks. But it was her best shot, so she had to try.</p><p>Before she even got there, she had received another tip from the unknown sender. It told showed her the ventilation system, where she would be unseen. I was odd that the same person would message her twice, both with information that would aid her. Perhaps they did not want to be targeted? Or they were not allowed to aid her. It made her think. Not many people knew where Orgus was, or that he was even missing. The Council wouldn't hide their involvement if they were the ones aiding her, and many of the forces on Alderaan were too busy to help her. That only left her with one option, and she was unsure how to feel.</p><p>Regardless, this knowledge could save her Master's life. Using the knowledge given to her, she was able to enter the labs unseen. It was a little cramped, but nothing she could not handle.</p><p>When she found Orgus, she nearly gave the old man a heart attack. She had seen him though a vent and leapt out without warn, tackling the old man in a embrace. He returned it but it was short when he grunted with pain. She saw the wound, a slash across his back. He was in no shape to fight, and neither was the doctor he was protecting. She was their only defense against what was inside the base.</p><p>A force of Killiks managed to break through but she ended them swiftly, trying to find a way out of the base that didn't involve fighting their way out. But there was none. Orgus had told her to go to Palace Organa, that he and the scientist would stay here until forces came to rescue them. She learned of the scientist's true identity and nodding, she hurried away, but not before looking to her Master for what she feared could be the final time.</p><p>It took some time, but following the exposure of the spy, and destruction of the weapon, she was able to tell Organan forces where to find her master. Both he and the scientist were returned safely, and wounds were treated. She too, had her own. Her stomach has a large gash from the Sith she had to fight against, as well as a few blaster burns.</p><p>Within a week they were back on the fleet. The Council has permitted Orgus to rest for a few weeks before he went anywhere else, and as his Padawan, it meant she was on rest too.</p><p>They were going to return to Tython, but there was one thing she needed to do first. She sent a holo message, with simply "Meet me at the fleet cantina" and waited. She used the excuse of looking for a new saddle for Broga to convince Orgus to go to the ship without her.</p><p>It was an hour before he showed up, and she was almost ready to leave. But then a flash of red caught her eye and she glanced over. It was him, and he'd clearly gotten her holo, since it was obvious he was looking for someone. He spotted her and approached with a small quirky smile. </p><p>"Hey."</p><p>"Hello."</p><p>"I heard Master Orgus was found?"</p><p>"Yes, thankfully all his injuries were treatable. He'll recover within a few weeks, or so the doctors say." She gave a sigh of relief as Theron slid into the seat across from her.</p><p>"So why'd you need to see me?" Oh he knew.</p><p>"I received intel from an unknown sender. They were the only reason I was able to find Orgus."</p><p>"How did you know it wasn't a trap?"</p><p>"I didn't. But I couldn't just... I couldn't just wait and hope for the best when there was something I could do."</p><p>"So... not a trap?"</p><p>"No. That intel might have saved Orgus's life." She glanced up to him with a small grin. "I owe them everything." He kept a neutral face but she sensed the positive energy from him. Hesitantly she reached a hand out. "I owe <em>you</em> everything." It was then he gave her a small grin.</p><p>"The Republic could hardly lose one of it's best Jedi Masters-"</p><p>"I don't care what your reasons were. I just wanted to thank you in person." She interrupted him.</p><p>He was silent for a while, just staring at her. Then he spoke. "You can thank me by joining me for a drink."</p><p>"Jedi really shouldn't-"</p><p>"Whose going to tell?"</p><p>"Isn't your job all about telling people's secrets?"</p><p>"Yeah, but having a drink isn't interesting enough to put in a report." She scoffed, but followed him over to the bar nonetheless.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Following that interaction, they spoke more frequently. It started as a simply meeting up for a drink whenever they were both on the fleet. Sometimes even on planet if they happened to be in the same area. It increased to messages and occasional calls. It became a friendship.</p><p>It was a strange feeling, friendship. She felt grateful to have him in her life, but a part of her worried. Was this breaking the Jedi Code? Was this looking at the people who raised her and disobeying the most important rule for them? The answer was a likely yes, but she couldn't bring herself to cut him off.</p><p>Not now.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>
  <strong> <em>3641 BBY</em> </strong>
</p><p> </p><p>5 years. 5 long years. And an even longer month. Within the span of 30 days, the location of the Emperor had been found. A team of the strongest and most willing Jedi went, including Orgus. She had wanted to go along, but her Master had refused, telling her he did not wish to see her exposed to such darkness and hatred at her age. Though the two argued, the Grandmaster had piped up, agreeing with Orgus, leaving her to anxiously wait for his return.</p><p>He never did. News reached her that the Emperor was killed, and she was filled with relief and joy. She stood with many of her peers as the shuttle landed. One by one, them team emerged, but significantly smaller. It dimmed her joy, knowing so many good Jedi were killed. She counted 5 dead - and her heart stopped. The last of the team emerged, but she did not see Orgus among them. After the team had exited, troops came behind them, with bodies.</p><p>She had shoved her way to the front of the crowd, ignoring the protests and even a grunt of pain, her heart beating too loudly in her chest. As soon as she did, she felt a tear roll down her check. Orgus. His body was amongst the dead. For a brief moment she thought him asleep, his eyes closed and almost no wounds visible. Save for the hole where his heart was.</p><p>Kaasha didn't notice she was moving forward before the Grandmaster intercepted her, stopping her, holding her back. The togruta let out a cry and felt her knees buckle below her, the tears collecting in her eyes spilling over. All at once her emotions broke through her facade. The frustration of being left behind, the worry she felt when he was gone, and the overwhelming grief she felt run her over at the sight of her master's body.</p><p>At first she fought against Satele's hold, shouting out for her master, only to receive no response. She heard the crying and sorrows of others, but it was dulled out to her from the crushing pain she felt in her heart. Everything around her sounded far away like it was underwater, muted and dulled. Much like the world had become in the few seconds since the team's return. </p><p>From the corner of her eye she saw a Padawan run out and throw themselves into a hug with one of the survivors, an elderly Togruta woman. She was lucky. Her master came home. She didn't get the chance to say goodbye to hers. Instead her pride had stopped her, too hurt to allow herself to accept that she would not be accompanying him.</p><p>Satele said nothing, but just held her, letting the young woman mourn. They slid to the ground, the older woman cradling the sobbing young adult in a motherly fashion, her arms circling her protectively while one arm lightly stroked her lekku in a failing attempt at comfort. It wasn't the same though, it wasn't him. Kaasha reached a hand out towards Orgus, almost like she expected him to open his eyes and give her a smile. Hold her and assure her it was okay.</p><p>But he didn't. He never would.</p><p>The tears sprung over all over again. Her weight was dead, no longer fighting. </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>The funeral for the dead was attended by every senator, even the Chancellor, and nearly the entire army. She wore a black cloak, hood drawn up to hide her bowed head. She stood by Orgus' burning body; she had no energy, not even to let out a tear. She could almost sense him, almost like he were standing next to her, mourning just as much as she.</p><p>Her head ached, and her body was numb. Moving felt like something had possessed her and willed her to move, for her spirit was too busy being stuck in the past. It was broken. Much like the heart in her chest. It still beat, but every thumb was filled with pain and reminders of what she had lost. The thoughts made her chest tighten and heart pound inside her, bringing a new set of tears to her eyes that fell swiftly and silently.</p><p>A hand was place on her shoulder, a gentle touch. It was comforting, but it stood no chance to lessen her grief. Even as the service ended and the fires were dying, she stood there, unwilling to leave. Even the other Jedi were dispersing, many of them passing her and expressing their condolences for her loss. She paid them no mind. But the hand remained. Stood there even as the sky darked and it began to rain. The hand moved, shifting to the other shoulder, and pressure put on it encouraged her to final take her first few steps away.</p><p>The hand led her away from Orgus, away from the pain, towards the spaceport. Towards their- no, her- ship. T7 beeped sadly when he saw her, rolling up and bumping her leg, comforting as best he could. The cold metal of the droid was a welcome feeling as she brushed his dome, and offered the closest thing to a smile she had given in a week.</p><p>It offered hope. That she could heal, that she could move on. A pressure on the small of her back encouraged her to enter the ship.</p><p>Next thing she knew she was in her room on the ship, sitting on the bed. Theron was next to her, silent, patient. He said nothing, offered no words of comfort or condolences. He was waiting for her to make the first move.</p><p>She didn't want to. Felt like if she did it would make everything seem more real. She was alone now. No one to guide her, no one to teach her. No one to be by her side.</p><p>"Kaasha?"</p><p>"..." She said nothing but she leaned on his shoulder, shifting so her montrals weren't poking his face. His arm came around and held her. Nothing more was said between the two of them. He just let her rest there, feeling tears stain his jacket, but he didn't seem to care. Her weight was limp against him and it took him 15 minutes to realize she had fallen asleep on him. </p><p>He shifted her so she was on her back, and draped the blankets over her. Her eyes blinked groggily and she looked at him through half-lidded eyes. he reached out her hand and lightly held onto his fingers. "Why won't it stop?" Her voice broke and her eyes squeezed shut, like sheer will alone would chase away the pain she felt.</p><p>"Because you care." He answered honestly, rubbing his gloved thumb over the back of her palm in a soothing manner. </p><p>"When-" his eyes looked up and met hers, dull from grief, almost like the life within her had vanished. "When will it stop?"</p><p>The SIS agent paused. He wasn't good at comforting, but the pain the Padawan felt mimicked the same he felt when Master Zho died. And no one was there for him. "It won't," he answered honestly, feeling a tug in his chest when her eyes widened ever so slightly in disbelief, "but it gets easier. I don't know how, and I can't say when... but it'll get easier. Okay?" He felt like there was a rock in his stomach, like every word could set her off, which was exactly what he wanted to avoid.</p><p>"Thank you." The words surprised him at first, but a slow quirk of a smile fought it's way to his lips. But when he went to respond he fell silent. Her eyes were closed, and she looked at peace. He didn't need the force to know this was something she needed.</p><p>No words responded, but she felt him press a light kiss to her hand. </p><p>And he was there when she woke up, fast asleep in an uncomfortable position that would come to bite him when he woke up. It made her heart swell with affection, then realized their hands were linked. A voice in her head spoke to her, telling her this was wrong.</p><p>Then why did it feel so right?</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. An Old Friend</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>A drink with an old friend takes a weird turn.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So to make things clear: Kaasha has just been knighted. Tython is the only canon planet that has happened. I also HC for this story that the Emperor was killed by Master Orgus, who died later from injuries. Cool? Cool. </p><p>The only companion that she has is T7-01<br/>She has met Kira and is close enough to her to call her a friend</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>No words responded, but she felt him press a light kiss to her hand. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>And he was there when she woke up, fast asleep in an uncomfortable position that would come to bite him when he woke up. It made her heart swell with affection, then realized their hands were linked. A voice in her head spoke to her, telling her this was wrong.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Then why did it feel so right?</em>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>The nudging of T7 woke her up. For a moment, she couldn't remember where she was. Her eyes were dazed and she closed them again, assaulted by the brightness of the light. Her room was green, so why was the ceiling gray? She mumbled this out loud and soon received the answer in a huff from the Varacytl she was currently leaning against.</p><p>Right.</p><p>She had heard the news about Tython. How the Empire attacked it directly following the Republic assault on Korriban. While it made her stomach dropped, a part of her knew their attack, in a way, was justified. They had hit at the heart of the Empire, why would they not expect the same back?</p><p>"Hey, bud." Kaasha mumbled, pushing herself up, rubbing at her face. It felt cold and warm, probably from her crying earlier when she had heard the news. Broga cooed beside her, nudging her leg with his beak, slithering his head onto her lap, searching for the affection she was showing the droid.</p><p>The Togruta huffed out a laugh and ran her hands through his main, a low rumble from the reptile's chest being her response.</p><p>"Sorry, T7. You were saying?" Her eyes turned back to the droid while continuing to shower Broga with affection, who had decided to close his eyes to rest more.</p><p>
  <em>Jedi = received message. Agent Shan = meet at cantina. Fleet = he said.</em>
</p><p>Her brow furrowed. She had no clue Theron was back on the Fleet. Last time they had spoke was a few months ago following her knighting. He had congratulated her and took her for a celebratory night out. It was a good time, and the first time she had actually drank a full cup of alcohol. It was still disgusting and bitter to her.</p><p>"When was this sent?"</p><p>Message = arrived 1 day ago</p><p>"Dammit!" She pushed herself off the floor, Broga yelping when his pillow knocked him in the face and left him. T7 hurried after her as she made her way to the cockpit. "Tee, how far are we from the fleet?" She turned the auto-pilot off and slid in into her seat, setting the coordinates for the hyper jump. When the droid beeped she swore under her breath. "Okay... let's make it 1 hour." She hit the gun, throwing them into hyperspace.</p><p>The droid let out a yelp from the sudden force of drifting to light-speed, letting out angry noises, receiving a 'sorry!' thrown over his Master's shoulder.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>She got an earful from the landing guard for her rushed landing, and she managed to get off with a minor fine of 100 credits. She probably could have gotten off with less if she was actually dressed in her Jedi robes, or using a mind trick, but she was kind of in a rush so she didn't bother too. She did throw on a jacket, given that she was wearing her pajama shirt which was a bit revealing, on top of the black pants and boots she had on. </p><p>Kaasha practically threw the credits at him, telling T7 to stay with the ship and make sure Broga didn't come charging after her. She'd gotten fined for that before, mainly because the Varacytl got nervous when she was gone for long periods of time.</p><p>The cantina was busy, and she didn't have time to look around, even for his classic red jacket and spiky hair. She saw at least a dozen patrons with red clothing and even more with brown spiked hair. Gathering she couldn't find him through sight, she closed her eyes for a moment and searched for his energy. </p><p>He felt close- like he was right...</p><p>She yelped when she felt two arms envelope her waist. She snapped her body around, pushing the person away, her lekku darkening. Theron laughed, holding his hands up in surrender when she smacked his chest. "You jerk! You can't just- just sneak up on me!"</p><p>"Come on, Kaasha. We both know you wouldn't hurt a hair on my head." He grinned at her wickedly but let out a yelp when she yanked his ear. </p><p>"Try me." She threatened, then pushed him away and walked away. His footsteps got louder as he came up to her side, leading her up to the bar, ordering the two of them drinks, making sure to get her an non-alcoholic one. </p><p>With their drinks in hand, he led her to a more secluded part of the cantina, not that it was much better than where they got their drinks. Her legs were crossed as she sipped her drink patiently, waiting for him to speak. A part of her was salty that he didn't tell her he was back from his most recent adventure. "You could've at least sent me a message." She said with a neutral tone, though her eyes watched the color liquid in her cup.</p><p>"I'm sorry-"</p><p>"We haven't seen each other in months, and you don't even let me know you're okay, or that you came back. For a little while I was sure you were dead." She snapped with an even voice.</p><p>Ahsara felt guilt coming from him, but she didn't let her relief at seeing him okay show. "I know, and I'm sorry. As soon as I got back, I got called in for another job. One I couldn't say no to." His eyes tried to meet hers but she was stubborn. "Colonel Darok wanted my help strategizing the attack on Korriban." She was silent for a moment, then finally met his eyes. A flash of relief went through his amber gaze but it was gone as soon as it showed. "Then the news about Tython... I was working 24/7. I didn't realize that I didn't even- I'm sorry Kaasha." His voice was earnest but in the same tone he always used during his debriefs and operations.</p><p>He watched her as she sighed, rubbing at her face. "You scared me, you know. I was planning to storm the SIS and find you." His lips quirked in a smile at the joke. If she was willing to joke, it showed she wasn't really mad at him. </p><p>"I dunno, the SIS is pretty good at defending itself."</p><p>"Shut up." The pair laughed, before an awkward pause settled between them. The togruta took a long sip of her drink, lip darting out to catch some of the liquid that splashed on the side of her mouth. "So. What did you want to meet for? If you just wanted a drink you could've just asked."</p><p>Theron was quiet for a moment, then subtly looked around to see if anyone was nearby or listening. Then he leaned in like he was going to spill a big secret. "I have a theory... the attacks on Tython and Korriban. I think they were coordinated to happen at the same time."</p><p>"And you think this because..."</p><p>"You don't think it's strange that Tython was attacked less than 24 hours after we took Korriban? Even the Empire can't mobilize that fast." His voice was hushed, but he kept his body posture relaxed as to not give off any signs of suspicion. </p><p>Kaasha thought for a moment. It was true. Most retaliations happened days after, sometimes even weeks. "I mean... I didn't hear about Tython until about 2 days after the attack. But yeah... I guess that is weird. But what is it that makes you come to me, and not, you know, your boss or any of the SIS?"</p><p>Her friend was silent, the tension growing, and a part of her was worried. She sensed anxiety, anger, and even a dim feeling of betrayal coming from him, and it made her want to wrap her arms around him, to comfort him in what ways she could. But the tension she sensed within him told her it was not the wisest decision. "I think it was an inside job. I don't know by who, but I know that if I tell any other agent or military officer, they'll be tipped off. I can't have that happen. We need to catch them red-handed, or find evidence. I don't know. I have a contact in the Empire who thinks the same- she says she wants to meet up-"</p><p>"She? You got a lady friend in the Empire? I'm shocked." She deadpanned with a small smile, trying to lighten the mood. "Never thought I'd hear you working with an 'Imp' as you say."</p><p>"I know, but I wouldn't be working with her if we didn't need each other's help. From what I can tell, and from her suspicions, we both had a traitor inside who planned the attack. They worked together to weaken both the Republic and Empire, or distract them at the least."</p><p>She was quiet for a moment, holding her cup in both hands, thoughtful. She felt his eyes on her, waiting for her to say something, likely that he was being paranoid or ridiculous, but he made some good points. And what was the harm in investigating? "Where does she want you to meet?"</p><p>"We traced the two traitor's locations to a planet called Manaan-"</p><p>"Cool, let's go." She pushed her chair back and stood up, dusting the invisible dust off her pants. </p><p>"What? No, you're not coming with."</p><p>"And why not?"</p><p>"I don't need you two fighting each other the second we get there. Besides, I think you'd get in more trouble if we got caught."</p><p>The togruta shrugged. "Then we don't get caught. Simple. Plus if you think I'm letting you go to a planet with no backup of any kind, you're damn wrong. Now either you let me come or I'll drag Broga up here." The varacytl was not a big fan of her friend. Perhaps he saw the human as another creature competing for her attention, but she remembers Theron getting messed up whenever Broga determined the human was too close to her.</p><p>He huffed and opened his mouth to say no, but once again she interrupted him. "Theron, if this were me going off to hang out with an Imperial, would you really let me go alone? Even if you didn't come physically I know you'd slice into everything just to make sure I don't get myself killed." She pointed it out, walking over to his side of the table and crossing her arms. </p><p>She smirked in victory when his shoulders slumped and he ran a hand through his hair in defeat. "Fine. But we take a shuttle so no one can trace the ship."</p><p>"Deal. Just let me grab Broga."</p><p>"... You're bringing the lizard?"</p><p>"Unless you want to pay a few thousand credits to cover any damage he might do from being antsy-"</p><p>"No, no, the lizard can come."</p><p>"Great."</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>It was a water planet. Great.</p><p>She was not the biggest fan of water. Not since she almost drowned on Tython when she was 12. A few younger younglings were splashing in the pool and on of them got stuck in the flora at the bottom of the pond. She'd gone into to save him but in their panic she got whacked hard in the chest, causing her to inhale a bunch of water.</p><p>Thankfully one of the Council was passing by to hear all the younglings screaming.</p><p>The experience gave her not a fear of water, necessarily, but a fear of being <em>trapped</em> underwater. And something told her that was what's going to happen. "So your contact said the two were meeting here?"</p><p>"No. That's what I told her, she's just the one who made the plan to actually come here." Theron explained on the shuttle, sitting at least 5 feet away from her, with Broga settled on her lap watching him with narrow eyes. It was almost amusing, if a bit worrying. Broga was fine with almost everyone else getting close, so the fact he disliked Theron made her wonder sometimes.</p><p>Kaasha was a bit surprised to see how sunny the planet was, and the archatexture was beautiful. It was peaceful. Almost seemed too perfect for a base of operations. It seems more like a resort rather than a place where a research facility would be, but then she had yet to see the inside.</p><p>"This is where your contact wanted to meet?"</p><p>"Yeah, she's waiting inside. Follow me."</p><p>He led her down the creepily clean and empty hallway to a large open room with a few desks and decorative plants. By one of the desks, a blond woman stood with her back to them, a long black cape draped over her shoulders down to the ground.</p><p>She stopped dead in her tracks and snatched Theron's arm. "You didn't tell me your contact was Sith." She hissed, feeling the dark energy coming from the woman. </p><p>"Look, we need help for this, and she offered. What more can I do? I don't really have a choice."</p><p>"And how's she gonna feel when she learns you brought a Jedi-"</p><p>"If you two are done bickering," the woman turned around to them, showing off a pair of bright yellow eyes, "we should get to work." She stared at them with an uninterest gaze, though it was clear she had heard their conversation. Upon getting closer and woman dipped her head in greeting.</p><p>To clear the tension between the two force-users Theron sighed and broke ice. "Lana Beniko. Dedicated Imperial citizen and-" his eyes darted to her belt, "- fully armed Sith Lord."</p><p>Lana almsot looked amused with a curl of her lips. "Surely I'm not as intimidating as you think?"</p><p>"Well I'm sure if we got to know each other-" The sith either ignored the Jedi's sarcasm or didn't recognize it.</p><p>"Oh, I'm sure we'll see a lot of each other in the days to come." Lana turned her head to Theron, and the tension that had dimmed increased tenfold. "Did we not make it clear we could not trust anyone?" Her tone was calm but the words were a clear jab at the human male.</p><p>Instead of looking annoyed he rolled his eyes. "Kaasha here won't tell anyone. No one even knows she's here."</p><p>"Is that so?" The yellow eyes darted to her and one of her brows raised in interest. </p><p>"Believe me, I don't have much to gain by outing one of the SIS's best agents. Even if what he's doing could be called treason." Her hands were placed on her hips, ignoring the almost hurt look from Theron. "Now, we doing this or what?"</p><p>"Yes, let's." Lana turned around. "What have you found, Theron?"</p><p>The man cleared his throat and activated the holo in his hand, bringing up the image of a Republic military officer. "Colonel Darok, he organized the strike on Korriban. Supposedly to gather top-secret information. None of which has been turned over to the SIS." That explained why he didn't go to his organization, or anyone official for that matter. "One of the Jedi on the mission encountered a holo with a sith," he pulled up the image of a pure-blood sith. "His-"</p><p>"That is Darth Arkous. He is a member of the Dark Council and commanded the attack on Tython. He is the suspected traitor within the Empire." Lana explained, ignoring the annoyed look Theron gave her for interrupting him. "When the Jedi Temple was raided, he stole information relating to Rakata technology. Not to aid us, but to attack us." Her brow furrowed and she sensed much anger from Lana. Her relationship to the sith was unclear to her, but the anger seemed intense for just a traitor.</p><p>"Is there any connection between them? Any meet-ups or is this pure speculation?"</p><p>"I've found traces of both of them paying visits to the same genetics lab in an underwater facility here on Manaan."</p><p>Kaasha crossed her arms. "Any idea what the lab does? Medical treatments... research?" </p><p>"No documentation for the lab's purpose has been found as of yet," Lana answered her, her voice and spirit once again calm. "It's heavily armed. You'll have to make your way through the security grid on top of the heavily armed guards-"</p><p>"Wait," The togruta snapped her head to Theron. "You brought me here for me to do the dirty work?"</p><p>"No! Lana, we can't just send her down there-"</p><p>"Even knowing as little as she does, she is our best shot. Neither the Colonel or Darth Arkous will recognize her. She can do the best job of figuring out what is happening down there without linking it to us."</p><p>"But-" Kaasha swallowed, her hands griping into fists. "Fine. I'll go down there. But on one condition."</p><p>"Which is?"</p><p>"A paid vacation."</p><p>"Deal."</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Crawling through the vents. Again.</p><p>It was safer.</p><p>Even as a Jedi against blasters, she couldn't take out a full compound just to get to two guys. And if this place was as secret as they said, the amount of guards would definitely get her killed or captured. So, a almost certain death or torture, or crawling through the cramped air ducts and hoping for the best?</p><p>Air ducts it was.</p><p>Not that the others were pleased, mind you. Lana seemed to approved, brought less of a distraction, though worried that when she did allow herself to be seen it would bring a larger opposition, while Theron believed she'd be caught if she was there. </p><p>"You have no way of defending yourself-"</p><p>"Theron. Either you go down there, or you shut up. You want this done a certain way? You do it yourself." She had snapped at him, drawing a laugh out of the Sith, either from the attitude from the Jedi, or the kicked-puppy look the agent had.</p><p>Surprisingly the air ducts were bigger than she thought. She had enough space that she wasn't commando crawling on her stomach, but was able to be on her hands and knees. Better yet, she had enough space that she could turn around instead of shuffling backwards.</p><p>Passing the occassional vent showed her she was glad to have taken this way. There were a lot of guards, and many of them seemed to have cybernetic limbs and adjustments to them. Just kept her fingers crossed none of them had a thermal sensor. Her sabers had to be tucked into her pants, as they clanked too much on their own.</p><p>The longer she stayed in the vents, the mroe she saw about what the facility was doing, often pausing to see better into a room. She was rather thankful for the hearing her biology gave her, though it was still hard to tell from the echoes in the vents. From what she could tell, it was cybernetic alteration to the biology of the guards, making them stronger, smarter, faster, trying to create the perfect soldier. And based on the number of cadavers she saw, it didn't seem like there was a high success rate.</p><p>So much wasted life, it almost made her sick.</p><p>Theron kept talking to her via the com they gave her to attach to her headdress. It was a weird fit but she couldn't really complain. Hearing their voices made it seem less frightening down here, alone.</p><p>They were giving the directions for the next few turns before she got side tracked. She heard yelling coming from down the opposite vent.</p><p>
  <em>"Kaasha, I know what you're thinking-"</em>
</p><p>"We can't just leave them."</p><p><em>"Yes, you can. For all you know that is one of their guards."</em> Lana hissed.</p><p>"All the more reason to find out," ignoring the whispered shouts echoing in her montrals she scurried as quietly as she could down the vent shaft to the left of her. What she found... she had to admit she wasn't expecting. </p><p>A Wookiee. That or a tall rug, trapped in a cage, yelling at the scientists moving at the desks and consoles across the room. She was right above him. With the opening giving her a clear view, she gave a small whisper to the stars before removing the hatch. The yelling in her ear increased, and she could hear the two of them arguing with each other. Dream team, those two.</p><p>It took her a second, but she managed to get the Wookiee's attention without getting the scientists to notice as well. He opened his mouth to growl or yell at her, she couldn't tell, but closed his jaw when she pressed a finger to her lips. Sticking her head out a little more, she got a good look at the room. Large, but not too much, would be easy to get them all, including the small band of guards she noticed. The console the scientists were by had to have some door controls. Could lock out anyone potentially coming in.</p><p>She slipped her legs through, keeping a locked grip on the edge of the hatch to ensure she didn't just fall. Kaasha took in a deep breath. Then let go. </p><p>Given the montrals it was hard to tuck and roll, but she managed, scaring the shit out of the scientists, who just stared at her slack face. Taking the oppurtunity of attack, she leapt at them, taking one out with a swing of her leg, knocking them in the side of their head. That shocked the other two out of their stupor, as they drew their stun blasters. </p><p>In turn she ignited her sabers, hearing the Wookiee yell, along with a metallic voice, "You're getting it now!" Ignoring it she sliced on the blasters in half, belonging to the scientist who didn't back up, then throwing his into the opposite wall over 20 feet away. The last scientist scrambled away from her, shooting back, but she just deflected and cut through each blast. However, when she saw what he was heading for, from the quick glance of the scientist's eyes, she threw her saber at him, impaling him through the chest. The saber returned to her hand when she called out to it through the force, before clipping both to her belt.</p><p>Despite the yelling of the Wookiee, she went over to the control panel, looking through all the buttons and commands, searching for a door lockdown. But computers were a completely different language to her. She reached her hand up to turn the com on, "Theron? Little help here?"</p><p>"Apologies, your agent is having a small fit in the corner, here, allow me," Lana answered her instead, and told her how to seal the doors, except the one leading to where they needed to go. "There, now you should have a straight shot to Arkous and Darok."</p><p>"Is he mad?"</p><p>"... A bit hard to tell. He's hard to read."</p><p>"Believe me, I am well aware. Blame his training." She grumbled, but a little quirk of her lips popped when she heard a chuckle from the Sith.</p><p>"Well, I believe he is ready to speak to you."</p><p>"Great, what's he got to say?"</p><p>"He," Theron started with an even voice, "is actually not upset. Though I am annoyed. That was a huge risk-"</p><p>"You're on to talk."</p><p>"Hey, this isn't about me." He sighed, and she could tell just from the tone of his voice that he was rubbing his face.</p><p>"I couldn't just leave him. And think of it, we might have a new ally." She finished before heading over to the cage, where the Wookiee looked ready to explode. And was that- there was a droid head, a functional droid head, attached to his chest. "Um, hello."</p><p>"Oh, a rescuer at last!" The droid cried with relief.</p><p><em>Finally, some good news. Droid, tell her to release us. </em>The Wookiee growled to the droid on his belt.</p><p>"Of course, my esteemed Master Jakarro thanks you for the rescue and compliments your skills."</p><p>She blinked. She understood everything the Wookiee said, thanks to the mass amount of various languages she was taught from a young age, but the droid didn't seem to know that. "You'd be surprised what languages you learn as a Jedi. Try again." She placed her hands on her hips, unimpressed.</p><p>"Oh dear... please let us out of here. We beg you!"</p><p><em>I beg for nothing, droid!</em> Jakarro growled. Then he looked to her with sharp and angry eyes. She nearly took a step back if it werent for the protective shielding between her and them. <em>You- release us! We can slaughter the rest of these backstabbers together!</em></p><p>"Backstabbers? I'm sensing a story. How about this: you tell me what you're doing in there, I'll let you out, and then we can go find the head hanchos here? That soung good?" </p><p>The droid answered for her, probably for the best, more likely to tell the truth. "My esteemed master Jakarro is a specialist in... discreet cargo delivery. I am his translator, C2-D4, former servant of Her Imminence, Queen Line of-" Jakarro cut off the droid before he finished, and it made her smirk. An odd pair, but it was charming, in a weird way. "Anyways, Jakarro was contacted by Selkath scientist, Gorima to deliver certain medical equipment - <em>perfectly legal</em> - to this facility." Jakarro began to pace, almost adding atmosphere to the droid's story. "But, when the delivery was made, payment was never rendered. Instead, we were imprisoned and interrogated by two very unpleasant individuals-"</p><p>"They would happen to be a human male from the Republic and a Pure-Sith lord, would they?"</p><p>"We were never introduced, very rude to be honest," the droid almost made her want to laugh. </p><p><em>They asked if we told anyone else about the job. Insulting!</em> Jakarro snapped as his pacing increased in speed. Looked like he was ready to wear a hole in the floor.</p><p>"After the interrogation, they told Gorima to use us as fodder for his experiments!" </p><p>Her chest tightened and she bit her lip. "I doubt he could make you weirder than you already are."</p><p>"... I'm not sure how to interpret that remark." The droid's voice was deadpanned.</p><p>"Don't worry, it's the good kind." She waved her hands. "The experiments though... not the good kind. They're making a bunch of cyborgs, from what I could tell. Even more... doesn't seem like there is a high survival rate. So good news. Not gonna happen."</p><p>"Oh good!"</p><p><em>Enough! You are here for the traitors, yes? We were betrayed too! We can be allies.</em> Jakarro offered her, and the offer was remarkably tempting. Perhaps she also just found the pair of them entertaining.</p><p>"Theron? Lana? Any thoughts?" She opened the com to hear her current allies' thoughts.</p><p>
  <em>"Story checks out. Did some digging, found charges for smuggling, disorderly conduct, assault-"</em>
</p><p>"Even the droid?" She had to ask. Were they counted as one being since he was just a head, or were the charges on both of them individually?</p><p>
  <em>"Yeah. Why?"</em>
</p><p>"Uh-" she looked at the pair and shook her head, "never mind." Looking the two over she bit her lip and thought for a second. "I'm letting them out."</p><p><em>"Lana thinks it's a good choice, and I'm inclined to agree. Any ally is welcome."</em> The grudge she heard behind his voice made her snicker.</p><p>"Thanks for the faith. I'll see you on the surface."</p><p>
  <em>"Be safe."</em>
</p><p>She didn't respond, opting to go to the control panel instead, entering the command to unlock the shieldings around the pair. Once down the Wookiee immediately climbed out and rolled his shoulders. The anger was strong coming form him, but as much as her teachings went against it, she was inclined to be understanding of it. "Come on- let's go find you a weapon. Then we can knock some heads?"</p><p>"REVENGE!"</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>Even though the vents were big enough, Jakarro refused to sneak around like a "coward" he said, though C2-D4 added that the Wookiee was not calling her a coward. Not even 2 minutes into freedom and they were being slightly annoying. Though she could work past it if they were able to help each other. He wanted revenge, she needed to get to Darok and Arkous. Worked out better for them both to stick together.</p><p>The weapons weren't easy to find, they had to backtrack a little, Jakarro nabbing a blaster from a dead guard to use temporarily. </p><p>A good 5 minutes went by, and a few dozen deaths later, and they were on their way to find Gorima, and or hopeful Arkous and Darok. Heading the way they came, the droid tried to make some conversation with her to fill the silence.</p><p>"Pardon me for asking, my lady, but what revenge have you come to enact upon the traitors?"</p><p>"Huh? Oh, no, it's not for me. And jut call me Kaasha, <em>please</em>." The whole "my lady" thing was making her feel weird, like she was being addressed like a senator or a noble. Neither of which was a comforting idea. "The... Pub, did you call him? The Pub betrayed a friend of mine. I'm helping him get even. Though I'd prefer if we took them alive- you know?"</p><p>"Unfortunately not. The life we live, one cannot allow traitors to live. Gives them a chance to betray us later."</p><p>"I suppose that's fair. Maybe it's also because he's an official military officer? Killing him would just make it worse."</p><p><em>Stupid laws! Life more fun when you make your own rules! Like us!</em> Jakarro scoffed, checking his crossbow over, joining into the conversation.</p><p>"As tempting as that may be," she began, knowing that Theron and Lana were most definitely listening, picking her words carefully, "my life has been given to a bigger purpose than myself. My purpose is to ensure the safety of others, not focus on my personal feelings."</p><p><em>Sounds boring. How is that a life worth living? No choices? No decisions. Just being told what to do.</em> Jakarro sniffed, placing his crossbow over his shoulder when he was satisfied there were no harms to his beloved weapon. </p><p>"I must agree with my Master. Life is much more interesting when you decide what to do." C2-D4 piped up. The Togruta watched the two curiously. They did seem happy, even with such a dangerous and illegal life they lived. She didn't understand how some people got joy from life threatening situations... but perhaps that was it? They got to choose that life. She was given to hers. Something to consider.</p><p>They got to a door that was locked. The console next to it showed no buttons, rather a place to scan a handprint and a retinal scan. "Theron? Can you slice this one?"</p><p>
  <em>"... Gonna take a while, but I could... the firewall is pretty serious on this one. Wrong move will set off the alarm, so something tells me this is the place to go."</em>
</p><p><em>Too much time! We do this ourselves!</em> Jakarro growled, and she relayed what he said to Theron.</p><p>
  <em>"Well, could backtrack to that room with the scientists. Use them to get past."</em>
</p><p>Her face scrunched up, "Theron, we can't just drag a corpse through the halls like he's a security card-"</p><p>
  <em>"Who said anything about bringing the whole corpse?"</em>
</p><p>"... what the-" her eyes widened, "ugh, you are disgusting, you know that?" She looked to Jakarro and sighed, "fine. Just... don't make me get the eyeball." She felt like gagging, turning on her heel as she and her new allies went back to the room with the dead scientists.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>(A/N: Anyone who has played Tales of The Borderlands... this scene was inspired by the spork scene.)</p><p>Getting the hand was easy, just a slice of the saber and it was off. It was disturbing how easily Jakarro picked it up like it was a piece of machinary. The eye on the other hand... that was the hard part. </p><p>"What do you mean you can't?"</p><p><em>Big paws do not have gentle touch. Tiny Jedi has better chance of no damage. </em>Jakarro explained with crossed arms. They had moved one of the scientists to a gurney next to surgery supplies, including a scalpel. Perfect. Just... just great.</p><p>"I can't believe I'm doing this. Literally any other idea would be a better idea. And-" she turned to Jakarro, "how is this easier than letting Theron slice into the computer?"</p><p>
  <em>Won't set off alarm this way.</em>
</p><p>She took the scalpel in her hand, staring at it making her stomach churn. "Ugh, this is gonna suck." She approached the body and held the scalpel up to the eye, the tip of the blade just above the eyelid. Just breath. Just-</p><p>
  <em>Hurry!</em>
</p><p>She yelped, and the scalpel drove forward. She felt it squirt on her face, eyes squeezing shut. "Dammit- you can't just yell and expect it to go faster! Now shut up or get your furry arse over here and do it yourself." She snapped, baring her teeth at the Wookiee, feeling her patience running thin. Jakarro looked at her, and she couldn't tell if he was stunned or impressed by the snappy attitude she just gave him.</p><p>The sight was not pretty. The scalpel was driving through the eye, splitting it in half. And all the juices were- she felt sick. </p><p>"Don't worry! There's still one more eye! Just try not to crush this one." C2-D4 was trying to be encouraging but it only made her feel worse. </p><p>"Stop talking. Please." She took the scalpel out, trying not to gag from the sounds it made coming out of the... well what remained of the eye. Before she bent over to the other eye she gave Jakarro a look before returning to the task at hand.</p><p>The first cut was the worse, just above the eye, and enough to break skin. Blood began to pool, and she couldn't wipe it away, so it made the other cuts harder. Creating the outline was easy, but then came the tough part of cutting through deeper. Deep enough to get the eye out.</p><p>It smelled awful. Her nose was more sensitive than a human's but even she knew they'd be struggling not to gag. She got enough of the blood getting in her way and took off her jacket, using the material to wipe the blood away between every few cuts. Now all that was left what the... thing... attaching it to the thing... She swallowed.</p><p>"Okay, okay... I'm actually doing this." She slipped the scalpel in, her eyes nearly bulging when the saw the eyeball move but she pushed down the urge to puke. She felt it when the eyeball was free, her hand coming just below it to hold the slimy thing in her hands. She was so thankful she had gloves. So fucking thankful.</p><p>"... I got it." The eye was mostly black, but she didn't know if that made it better or worse. Maybe worse. Definitely worse. </p><p><em>"Great. Now get back to the scanner."</em> Theron's voice was in her ear. She didn't say anything, instead turning the comm off, cutting him off.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>She thanked every single star, planet, moon, and piece of luck in the galaxy that the scanning worked. Made ripping the eye out of an already dead sentient a bit easier. As long as she didn't think about it. She just wanted this to end, so she could go home, and spend a week hiding under the covers pretending this was just a weird dream she could wake up from.</p><p>The door slid open, revealing a much higher tech lab, with multiple pods, kolto tanks, and bodies. Most of them implanted with cybernetics. And from the lack of energy she sensed, she already knew they were dead. There were at least a dozen of them, just lying there like tools. Like they weren't living beings withs feelings or a future-</p><p>Her eyes narrowed when she saw the Selkath working on another cyborg, already dead. Like he was studying the anatomy, looking for what went wrong, or what went right. It made her even more sick than the eyeball. It made bile rise in her throat.</p><p>"You must be Gorima-" the scientist's head snapped up, stance ridged with fear that made his energy practically glow. "Time to talk."</p><p>"Who-" his eyes darted to the door, "-how did you get in?"</p><p>"Through very unpleasant methods, so I'm not in a negotiating mood." She snapped, tossing the eyeball over to the scientist. Gorima caught it, but upon seeing what it was, he yelped and dropped it like it were on fire.</p><p>Gorima stood back and held his hands up. "I swear-"</p><p>Jakarro had enough of talking, smashing aside a table, yowling. <em>Gorima! You planned to cut me open, you double-dealing gorryl slug!</em> The Wookiee drew his crossbow, aiming at the Selkath.</p><p>The scientist in question squeaked as he tried to put distance between him and the Wookiee, holding his hands in front of him like that would stopped the raging ball of fur. "It was not my decision! Admittedly, I was eager to for my first attempt at an implant on a Wookiee-" those were the wrong words as Jakarro's rage grew even more. </p><p>"He mustn't get the chance to betray us again! Shoot him already!" D4 called from Jakarro's chest as the Wookie pulled back his crowbow, ready to fire.</p><p>"You! Jedi- you do not allow for innocents to be killed!" Gorima pleaded to her, but all she did was turn her head.</p><p>"You are no innocent." Jakarro took that as his cue, and shot the scientist dead, then shot a few times after onto the corpse. Oddly, she didn't even feel the need to scold him for doing so.</p><p>"Well," a new voice made her snap her head behind her, seeing two men standing there. The Colonel and Darth Arkous. They looked amused in a way, like they had walked in on two children playing a game. "That explains the dead guards."</p><p>"Hmmm... you are new. But I sense something familiar..." The Darth eyes' racked over her, as if searching for something. Then his eyes found what they were looking for. She followed his gaze, realizing he was staring at the lightsabers connected to her belt. "Hmm... you are no Sith. Jedi, perhaps?" But then his eyes flicked to Gorima's corpse, and his eyes almost seemed to light up. "Oh, but I see you've allowed Gorima to be murdered in cold blood... not very noble of you is it?"</p><p>"I don't really feel like answering that, thanks." She deadpanned, her annoyance growing when the Sith only chuckled. It made a pit in her stomach grow. Was it right to let Gorima die? He deserved death for what he had done to so many lives... but is that what should have happened? It plagued her mind and from the Sith's growing smile, she knew that he felt her fear.</p><p>"Turn back before you do something you regret," the Colonel crossed his arms and huffed. "This is none of your concern."</p><p>"I think it is, now. You have harmed my ally and you will pay for it." She snapped, referring to Jakarro with a nod of her head. Her hand held her hilt tightly enough that her blue skin now shared a likeliness to the sky. </p><p>"Very well. Enjoy the prototypes." The Darth held up a clicked and pressed down on the button. The glass that stood between them and the traitors were soon hidden by a large metal door. A distant rumbling was heard, and it made her stomach drop. The facility shook around them, unstablizing her balance for a moment before she regained it.</p><p>Shit.</p><p>"Okay, we need to get out, like, now!" She booked it down the hall, and after a few moments, the sound of other footsteps followed her. She heard Jakarro catch up to her pretty quickly, almost running her over when she skidded to a halt when she heard it. Splashing. Her eyes darted down. A small layer of water was covering the ground.</p><p>Any panic she was holding back came forward and suddenly she felt as if all her air had disappeared. They were trapped. They were trapped in a sinking underwater facility, with no knowledge of how to get out. She was only brought out of her thoughts when the Wookiee roughly shoved her forwards, making her stumble forward, then following him.</p><p>Many of the guards they passed were too occupied in their self preservation than the intruders making their own escape. The water was rising now, at her mid-calf. Soon it would be getting much harder to move, and it might just cost them their lives.</p><p>They came to a fork. Two different directions, no signs to indicate which way they should go. Her breathing deeped, her hands coming to run over her montrals and lekku in an attempt to calm herself to no effect. Her finger grazed the comm, reminding her that she had outside access. She turned it back on only to hear shouting.</p><p>"-sha! Kaasha! You there? Do not make me come down there and drag you up here!" his voice was stern but she heard the fear and worry behind it even through her own terror.</p><p>"Theron!"</p><p>"Arw you-"</p><p>"Where the fuck are the escape pods?!" She screeched, almost feeling his wince on the otherside.</p><p>"Shit uh- take a left then down the hall, through the large room. But scanners are showing-"</p><p>"I'll deal with it later." She said and sprinted down the left hallway, Jakarro at her heels and even getting ahead of her with his longer legs. By the time they got to the end of the hallway, the water was up to their knees, and Jakarro had to drag her a little to keep up with him, though the water was weighing him down too.</p><p>She spotted the room they had to cross to the escape pods, she even saw them on the otherside, but a large growl and thumps made her pause. Within a second, a giant Selkath, nearly half as tall as the room, at least 10 feet tall, was standing between them and survival. Exchanging a glance with Jakarro, they both knew there was only one way through. </p><p>"I'll distract him, you get to the escape pod, then we get the fuck out, yeah?" The Wookie growled in agreement, rolling his shoulders as he waited for the opening. </p><p>She ignited her blades, the shining of them, if not the sound caught the cyborg's attention, who immediately sprinted for her. It was like a giant game of tag, except instead of tagging it was stopping and there wasn't running, there was leaping out of the way of a giant robotic fist. From the corner of her eye, she saw Jakarro reach the escape pods, and for a brief moment, she was terrified he'd leave her behind to save his own butt.</p><p>The doors opened, and the Wookiee disappeared inside of the pod, then a moment later peeked out and waved a long arm to her, roaring.</p><p>Jakarro calling for her to hurry her ass off got her attention, but allowed the cyborg to take a swing at her, clogging her in the head. The biggest pain was on her forehead to just a little above her eye. Must've broken the skin. Falling drove her head underwater for a second, not deep enough, her head hit the floor, knocking the comm off of her headdress, and made the pounding in her head worse. She resurfaced a moment later, coughing, clicking her sabers to her belt and booking it. Near her waist now, it was like running in slow motion to the pod. She could hear the pair yelling for her, as she reached her arm out to grab his. As soon as her fingertips grazed Jakarro's fur, she was yanked into the pod, the doors slamming shut behind her. The landing was rough and wet, the pod filled nearly halfway.</p><p>Dazed, she didn't notice the pod was moving until the movement was fast enough to make her stomach twist. Her hand flew to her mouth, holding back the bile in her throat as best she could until they broke the surface. The doors opened and she threw half of her body out as she coughed up what bile was stinging on her tongue, and what remaining water was in her lungs. She felt a hot liquid running past her eye but she was too dizzy to care whether it was water, sweat, or blood. </p><p>"Look! We're near the shore! Quick! Call for help! HELP!" D4 chattered from Jakarro's chest before the Wookiee began to yell at him. The furry sentient moved past her and drew his crossbow, shooting into the air, grabbing the attention of a few natives outside by the docks. Within a few minutes, a boat had been sent out to them, bringing them back to shore.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>She felt the pacing before she even saw it. The moment she realized the comm was no longer with her, she had booked it out of the medical ward they were brought to, leaving during the middle of the treatment of the cut on her forehead, which was a little deeper than she thought, if the fact that a third of her face was covered in her own blood was anything to go by. Probably explained why everything was so dizzy.</p><p>She didn't even make it 5 feet before crashing into the wall and Jakarro had to drag her to the meeting room. They heard the yelling from down the hall, and she didn't know if she felt relieved that they were still here, or dread that she had made them feel that way.</p><p>"-setback but we have to move forward."</p><p>"Losing someone who had no stake in this is not a <em>setback</em>. We could've gone down there with her-"</p><p>"Then we'd all be dead and no one could expose the traitors."</p><p>The Togruta and Wookiee exchanged a long, though more the Wookiee as Kaasha's vision was blurring in and out. Maybe she should've stayed at the med wing. When the trio reached the room, she saw Theron, or what blur she assumed was Theron, pacing back and forth in front of Lana, whose arms were crossed. But then she saw the Sith's eyes meet hers, and suddenly she felt sick again. Her vision blurred and her tongue went dry. </p><p>Jakarro did the talking but it sounded like he was underwater. She felt her eyes droop and her knees shake a little. Seems the adrenaline was coming down, and she had no more energy to go off of.</p><p>When her vision did finally come into some-what focus, her sense were overwhelmed with a sense of relief, and for once she couldn't tell if it was her own feelings or anothers. But she smiled, lifting her head enough to look at the Sith and the Agent.</p><p>"Miss me?"</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Edit: I changed the chapter in a major way. Broga did not come down into the lab. Because I wanted Kaa and Jakarro to have a nice talk about their versions of the purpose in life. Also feels a bit more highstakes when you don't have a creature built for moving through water along for the ride, huh?</p><p>Ending was rushed because it's 2 am here and I want to sleep</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. History Lesson</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Finished up with the lab, the coalition moves onto their next move</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So bandage time for Ashara. Got some ideas but wanted to hear thoughts. With a blooming romance, should Ash actively accept and pursue it, or resist because of who she is?</p><p>Lemme know you're thoughts down below</p><p>Edit: I did not realize there was already a character named Ashara... who was also Togruta? I've literally only played the JK story, what da frig? Gah now gotta change the names...</p><p>How does Kaasha sound? I like it. Kaasha Lok</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>"-setback but we have to move forward."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Losing someone who had no stake in this is not a setback. We could've gone down there with her-"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Then we'd all be dead and no one could expose the traitors."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The Togruta and Wookiee exchanged a long, though more the Wookiee as Kaasha's vision was blurring in and out. Maybe she should've stayed at the med wing. When the trio reached the room, she saw Theron, or what blur she assumed was Theron, pacing back and forth in front of Lana, whose arms were crossed. But then she saw the Sith's eyes meet hers, and suddenly she felt sick again. Her vision blurred and her tongue went dry. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Jakarro did the talking but it sounded like he was underwater. She felt her eyes droop and her knees shake a little. Seems the adrenaline was coming down, and she had no more energy to go off of.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>When her vision did finally come into some-what focus, her sense were overwhelmed with a sense of relief, and for once she couldn't tell if it was her own feelings or anothers. But she smiled, lifting her head enough to look at the Sith and the Agent.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Miss me?"</em>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>As soon as she was in the room, she was dragged out, back to the medical ward where she got the cut bandaged up on her head. They had to remove her headdress so it wouldn't fall off; the patch covered the top of her head, and from the looks from some of the medics, it would need changing eventually. They asked how she had gotten it, so she spun a half-truth of how she was in a genetics lab, performing a delivery when the facility sunk. Some glass broke and hit her in the face.</p><p>Whether or not they bought it, it didn't matter since they didn't ask more, though from the hushed discussion with the security guards they seemed to have bought it. </p><p>Lucky it wasn't infected, they told her, got there in time, but risked it getting worse by making a run for it. She lied that she had to make sure her ship was alright.</p><p>Theron and Lana stayed back in their room, mainly because they couldn't really afford to be seen in case Arkous or Darok caught wind of their arrival. It was a bit annoying, but she supposed it was just another day for Theron. Stay out of sight, record everything you hear.</p><p>She was sent out within the hour, getting a change of bandages and a lotion to put on to prevent scarring. A part of her wanted to keep it, but the rational part knew it would just bring up questions. No battle scars just yet.</p><p>When she came back, the two were waiting for her. Jakarro was no where to be seen, not yet anyways. Likely they'd hear him before he wasn't even in their line of sight.</p><p>"Hey, what'd they say?" Theorn pushed himself off of his leaning position on the table to walk up to her, reaching a hand to place on his shoulder, though it dropped when she walked past him.</p><p>"No infection. So it's good. Nothing major was hit or damaged, just minor blood loss mixed with adrenaline crash." She hummed, setting the supplies she was given down. "Gave me some lotion to prevent scarring and a change of bacta patches if it reopens for whatever reasons." Her eyes were on the supplies but she felt him deflate behind her, though her brain was a bit too preoccupied to care why. "So? What our next move?"</p><p>"Well-" Lana's eyes darted to Theron. "Based on what you found out in the facility, Darth Arkous and the Colonel are allies, manipulating both sides from their respective posts for a third party. Revanites. Members of the Order of Revan, a cult that's had it's claws in the Empire for many years."</p><p>Her brow peaked in curiosity. "Oh? Any idea how big they are? Resources?"</p><p>"Originally we thought they were only on Dromund Kass, but it seems they're much larger than we thought, if the lab was anything to go off of."</p><p>Theron leaned back against the table and crossed his arms, the same way he did whenever he was frustrated. "We also know they've got moles of high placement in both the Empire and Republic. That narrows down the list of people we can trust considerably."</p><p>"And you decided to include me? I'm honored." She deadpanned, placing a hand on her hip.</p><p>"Well it was you or Jonas. You're more useful." His brow quirked up, his cybernetics next to his eye shifting with the movement. She got ready to bite back at him before a growl cut her out.</p><p>Jakarro came up behind her and stood next to her, a bored expression on his face. <em>"Droid, tell them this is boring and I don't care for it."</em></p><p>"Ah, there you are. Now we can be introduced without you bleeding on the floor!" D4 said in what what the equvilent of an excited tone. Definitely directed to her since they mentioned blood.</p><p>"Guys, this is Jakarro, and that's C2-D4-"</p><p>"-former servant of her Imminence Queen Lina of Onderon-" the droid finished for her.</p><p>"-yes, that, guys, this is Lana Beniko and Theron Shan."</p><p>"Charmed." Lana's voice was filled with sarcasm as she scanned the two over.</p><p><em>"The Pub and Imp left me to die- twice! I will not rest until I've tasted their blood!"</em> The Wookiee snarled, fists clenched at his side. Almost everyone took a step back. Common knowledge, never be near an aggrivated Wookiee if you valued your arms.</p><p>"Considering they left us to drown and be crushed to death, possibly not in that order, I wouldn't mind roughing them up a little. But no murder. They need to answer for what they've done publicly." Kaasha added, making Jakarro huff in annoyance but seemingly accepting of this proposed middle ground. </p><p>Theron walked past her to Jakarro, leading the Wookiee away, something about tracking the two traitors down. Then the two males proceeded to get into an argument about who would do the talking. Men. Guess they were waiting now.</p><p>"You know-" She unconsciously tensed when Lana came to stand beside her, "- you are unlike any Jedi I've ever met or heard of."</p><p>"Is that a compliment?"</p><p>"In a way."</p><p>"What makes me different?"</p><p>"You allow yourself to work with those your peers classify as enemies." The Sith hummed, tugging at her gloves, not meeting the Jedi's gaze. </p><p>She leaned back onto the table, scooting herself onto the edge to sit on. "Master always said that the best way to learn and understand was to experience. I've only met one other sith in my life, but he had come to learn our ways, so he doesn't count. I think perhaps this is my chance to learn. To understand why we're so opposed, or to learn that we might not be that different." She offered.</p><p>"Wise words."</p><p>"Hmm... guess I just listened. For what it's worth, you're not like what I've heard sith are like. Minus the eyes." That made Lana's lips quirk in a brief smile.</p><p>"Is that a compliment?"</p><p>"In a way."</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>"Rakata Prime? Rakata Tech? What's next, Rakata Army? Actually yeah, that's what they're building." She hummed aloud in the shuttle. "So, wait remind me how you tracked them here?"</p><p>"I told you-" Theron sighed, looking over his shoulder to the rather impatient Jedi. "Jakarro and I spoke to his contacts and one of them said they saw people matching the descriptions of Arkous and Darok on the planet. Only lead we got, and it makes sense."</p><p>"Sure, but, they have no clue we're coming?"</p><p>"We can't exactly read minds, Kaasha-"</p><p>"Yes, I'm well aware. Part of the reason I nearly drowned-"</p><p>"That is so-"</p><p>"Will you two shut your mouths for 5 minutes so I can land this shuttle?" Lana snapped at the two of them, her yellow eyes blazing at the two arguing young adults, who were quickly quieted. However the two glared at each other like two children arguing over a toy until the Jedi turned her back to the agent, arms crossed across her chest.</p><p>The tension was thick enough she could cut a hole through it with the saber attached at her hip. She had no clue where it came from. One moment they were fine, and the next, a comment about being careful was made, and they were at each other's throats. From what she could tell they were friends, but now they were arguing with enough rage to kill the other.</p><p>And yet there was an overwhelming sense of fear. Normally she would shower in the fear of whomever was near, but this fear was different. She wasn't the cause, nor the one feeling it. The two arguing stunk of anger, annoyance, and one in particular was drenched in fear.</p><p>Much like during the lab. </p><p>The SIS agent was very good at staying collected under dangerous and highly stressful situations, even something like probing his mind for information, yes she tried, but she didn't need to do anything to tell he was nervous the entire time the Jedi was underwater. Normally standing still, his leg twitched, like he wanted to spin on his heel and go find her, his arms were crossed with his fingers drumming against his arm like a timer. </p><p>And when the place began to sink, he started to pace, trying to get a hold of the Togruta, only to get no response. He only stopped when they got through to her, and she didn't need to be perceptive to see the man relax with relief. It was only momentary though, when the Jedi cut off the communication again, though they could hear everything from her side, including the thumps of giant footsteps. And when they ran into trouble and the communication shrieked before dying out, she thought the man was gonna turn on his heel and sprint to the facility.</p><p>Only a miracle he didn't, instead opting to pace, a hand even coming to mess with his hair when he thought she wasn't looking. Lana, at the moment wasn't worried though. The Togruta's signature was hard to miss, so if it were suddenly gone, that would be hard to miss as well. Though it did seem a bit dimmer, like she was out of it, or unconscious. But she said nothing. This operation needed to succeed or else they had nothing, and she wouldn't risk it all just to save the life of a stranger, regardless of how much that stranger had helped her.</p><p>But then she was there, with a Wookiee at her side, both soaked and the Togruta's head bloody along with the jacket and thin tunic she wore that had become see-through from the water. The Agent- Theron wanted to take her back to the medbay, but the Sith prevented him, too preoccupied in their mission to allow themselves to be seen carelessly. He did stay behind, though he watched the two aliens disappear before getting to work.</p><p>She didn't think much of it at the time. Theron had explained that the Jedi was a close friend of his, and that he trusted her to be able to keep things secret. Good qualities for an ally, though her attitude left something to be desired. She was reckless and brash, something she did not expect of a Jedi, much less a Jedi brought into the operation, but they could not afford to be picky.</p><p>She had proven that despite her... less than effective methods she would stand by them or whatever they needed. A stupid decision, but admirable.</p><p>However part of her regretted getting the young woman involved. Despite being a Jedi and having the training that protected her mind, she sensed grief from the woman, even when smiling and happy, there was a shadow of sorrow that clung to her like she were it's life source. In a way, that statement was true. Even so, the arguing coming from the two 'Pubs' as Jakarro would call them, was getting out of hand and was nearing the point where she wanted to throw them out of the shuttle.</p><p>Lana could not explain the relief she felt when the shuttle landed and she left as soon as possible before she had to ear the two bicker more. Luckily, she didn't have to, as Kaasha was out of the ship almost the moment they touched the sandy beached.</p><p><em>"At last! Now that we're here, vengeance can be ours!"</em> Jakarro cheered as they took in the sights of the tropical planet. Already she was feeling overheated, and it had barely been a few minutes. </p><p>"Stars, it's hot. We actually have a plan of attack-"</p><p>"I wouldn't really call it a plan..." D4 mumbled from his place against Jakarro's chest.</p><p>"Great."</p><p>"We sent scouting probes ahead of us. Intel says the Revanites are camped in that tower," he pointed to a tower behind her, maybe a third of a mile from them, "called the Tower of the Ancients."</p><p>"Nothing says 'evil camp' like a crumbling tower." Kaasha placed a hand on her hip while her other grazed her fingertips over her saber. "Right, so we head in, knock some heads..."</p><p>"Try to bring them back alive."</p><p>"Sure, but do you have a plan for getting in the tower? Not like I can sneak in an air vent out here." She replied sarcastically. She practically felt Theron's annoyance from the lightest twitch of his eyebrow.</p><p>"Jakarro will act as a diversion, giving you an oppurtunity inside, and you'll be able to meet up again once your inside." Lana explained, handing her a holocomminicator to attach to her headdress. "Try not to smash this one, yes?"</p><p>"No promises." She hummed, taking the piece of equipment and twisting it in her hand. She attached it and sighed. "And what exactly will you two be doing? Sitting back while I risk my life? Again." The jab was at Theron if her narrowed gaze at the man was anything to go by.</p><p>"Actually no-" he started but the Sith cut him off.</p><p>"No, he and I will meet up with Jakarro once he's got Revanites chasing him. Capture any if we can, bring them back for questioning. And offer and help we can from here. But before you go-" Lana interected before the Togruta could run off. "The Revanites have convinced some of the locals to patrol the area, avoid them if you can. They're a barbaric lot."</p><p>"That says something coming from a Sith," She sighed, tugging on her gloves. She thought to find something more comfortable for this. She wore a light purple tunic that exposed some of her midrift with a beige vest on and sleeved gloves that went to her upper arms, which had some light flexible armor attached. "See you on the other side." She hummed, before whistling.</p><p>A trill was heard from the shuttle, before a giant blue-green lizard stumbled out, the door being a tight squeeze for the varactyle. "Come on Broga." The Togruta brushed her mount's mane before climbing onto his back, the sign of affection being return by a light nip from the lizard. She didn't say a word to her companions before the lizard was on the move, rushing the two into the jungle.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>The perks of having a varacytl was the areas of limited assess now became as easy as walking. Steep slopes and rocky cliffs were nothing to her mount, who scaled them like it was a flat surface. It also helped that his coloring allowed him to blend in with the environment, something his rider shared with her teal skin and striped lekku. </p><p>It wasn't hard to miss the distraction that Jakarro caused, if the sudden screams, shouts and sounds of explosions were anything to go by. She and Broga slipped past with ease, taking out any of the stragglers that decided to remain behind. Many of them had ID tags, and she collected them, placing them in a travel bag on Broga's saddel, in the case they needed them later. </p><p>The ranks were filled with both Imperials and Republicans. In a way, it was a joyful sight, seeing the two opposing sides working together, but disheartening to know the cause behind it. Was chaos the only thing that would bring the sides to an understanding, or would they bicker until the people from within destroyed both before they could defend themselves.</p><p>She didn't even realize she was staring at the bodies until Broga nudged her leg, a soft caw coming from her loyal companion. She ran a hand over his beak, saddling up again, letting him lead the way to the temple.</p><p>They had to take a little swim along the beach to avoid being spotted by a native patrol, watching them closely showed the group moving away from the temple, likely to their village or for a hunt. Hard to tell, as their weapons looked for both defense and hunting. She lied against Broga's back, hoping if they were spotted they simply saw it as a wild varacytl and didn't look too closely.</p><p>Eventually, after their swim and following the river, they found a clearing at the base of the tower. Revanites were everywhere, and with them, crates of what she could only assume were supplies or weapons. Too many to go for a frontal assault, and no way for her to get a sneak attack without then alerting everyone else. Kaasha bit her lip in thought from her crouched position. </p><p>No way they could-</p><p>A hand was on her shoulder. Instinctively she rammed her elbow behind her, and hearing the huff, threw them over her shoulder, pinning them to the ground with her knee on their neck.</p><p>Instead of a Revanite, like she was expecting, it was a Wookiee. A very, very familiar wookiee. "Jakarro!" She snapped, standing up and offering him her hand, helping the sentient to his feet, "you scared the crap out of me! You can't just sneak up on someone out here!" Her voice was hushed but it did nothing to hide her annoyance and paranoia.</p><p>
  <em>"We finish distracting outer defenses. Came to find you before moving to the temple."</em>
</p><p>"Great, cool. That works. But uh... how about one more distraction..." She nudged him and pointed to the large pile of crates about 50 yards from them. "Think you could get in a shot to make them explode? Could make getting in easier, plus we get rid of their shit."</p><p>"Jakarro likes the way Tiny Jedi thinks. Hold here and watch." The Wookiee snuck away from her, making remarkably little noise with all the foliage. She lost sight of him, and nothing happened for a few minutes. Just before she thought that they might have to fight through, a large boom caught her and half of the defenses' attention. The pile of crates was blown to bits, along with everyone within a 5 foot radius, burn to a crisp. Brutal.</p><p>Once Jakarro showed up, the small group snuck away, listening to the screams of pain and shouting coming from the enemy. "Theron? Lana? Come in." She reached up to the earpiece on her headdress.</p><p>
  <em>"Quite the display there."</em>
</p><p>"Never told me to be quiet." She hummed in response to the Sith's almost amused tone.</p><p>
  <em>"Fair enough, I suppose. Are you in the temple yet?"</em>
</p><p>"Just a short sprint from here, I'll let you know when I need help." Then another voice appeared in her montral and made her frown. </p><p>
  <em>"Kaasha, before you-"</em>
</p><p>"Thanks for the warning, later." She cut him off and turned off the audio on her end. She was in no mood to listen to him right now. Part of her wasn't even sure why, while the other part wanted to yell at him until her voice died.</p><p>She felt Jakarro's eyes on her, and by extension D4's, but she said nothing, except making a hand gesture indicating them to follow her. Their little group slipped through what defenses were by the entrance with ease, cutting them down quickly before any back-up or alarm could be raised. With nothing standing between them and the temple now, they made their way into the entrance, keeping their weapons at handy.</p><p>It was dark, though it didn't prove a problem for her, eyes adjusting rather quickly in the dark, allowing her to see with ease. She took the liberty of guiding the group through, slinking around corners and dodging what patrols she could. Thankfull any they couldn't were easily taken care of. Broga kept up with them, however he was the loudest, but proved useful in taking down enemies by flinging them across the room when getting too close to his rider. She'd praise him for each enemy he took out, his mane puffed up in pride from the affection he was receiving.</p><p>On the 5 floor, they reached a door that wouldn't open. She tried prying it open with the force but to no avail, leaving her only option to contact Theron. And Lana, but the Sith wasn't the one she was annoyed with.</p><p>Chatting was fun, but then neither was the topic. Only way through that wasn't filled to the brim with guards was through the conscription chamber, filled with cyborgs from the facility she had nearly drowned in. Thankfully they were in stand-by mode, almost like they were hibernating, though sudden movements could wake them or set of alarms that would alert everyone they were here. Neither was a pleasing option.</p><p>Any dread she felt was instantly doubled when Theron sent Lana off, something about sensors and fake, she didn't care. If he was going to try and apologize or say something stupid- "Alright we don't have much time," the SIS agent looked over his shoulder discreetly. "We can't allow any of that tech to fall into Imperial hands-"</p><p>"Aren't you just full of trust-"</p><p>"Kaasha." She shut her mouth, wating him with a raised brow. "Overload the console. It'll fry everything inside, including the cyborgs and any tech inside."</p><p>Her jaw dropped, looking at the console, then into the room that had become open, revealing a few dozen cyborgs inside stasis pods. "Theron- I," she looked at them again, "I can't kill people in their sleep like I was turning off a light switch," she began.</p><p>"We can't allow those cyborgs-"</p><p>"Yes, I know, but that doesn't mean killing people in their sleep. Is there nothing else we can do?" Her voice dropped to a whisper, her hand hovered over the consle, like her body and mind were fighting for which option to choose. </p><p>"No. Not without letting everyone know you're here. Kaasha, I know this is hard, but we gotta do what's right." His voice turned soft for the first time in what seemed like days, their argument and tension forgotten. Now it was just one friend trying to comfort the other in the light of a horrible decision. "If the alarms are set off, they'll attack you, and you'll have to kill them. This way it'll be quick and they won't feel a thing."</p><p>"Fine. I just- give me a second." She took a deep breath, pushing herself away from the console, fingers hovering over the overload commands. Her eyes closed as she pressed down. A small buzz was heard, and just like that, all the signatures she felt, were gone. Like they were never there. She didn't notice the tear that fell down her cheek until she felt the moisture hit her hand.</p><p>Almost as though she was shocked out of a dream, she wrenched herself away from the console, arms coming to hug herself, eyes squeezed shut. She heard Theron trying to talk to her, and a few seconds she heard Lana's voice too, though the latter was more questioning what had happened. Kaashajust ignored them, walking over to Broga and climbing onto the saddle, one hand digging itself into the quilled mane. It was a small comfort, but a comfort none the less.</p><p>She just killed a few dozen people, like they were nothing but a piece of machinary being turned off. Like they meant nothing. The rational part told her that they would have died by her hand directly if she hadn't, but the emotions she felt as the end of so many signatures rocked her. She cut the call, instead opting to listen to them via the holo piece on her headdress so she wouldn't have to look at them. </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>The next few hours, or was it minutes, seconds, mere moments, were silent. A weight was on her shoulders as she spoke to herself, ignoring the gazes she felt on her back. That didn't stop her from going up to the stasis pod of each of the cyborgs, offering each individual to become one with the force, wishing them well in what lay beyond the living world. She shed no tears.</p><p>"I hate to interrupt, but Darth Arkous and Darok have fled to the roof. Seems we've been noticed." Lana's voice came in through her montral. The togruta nodded, then gave a verbal response when she remembered they couldn't see her. One of her hands grabbed her primary saber, but did not yet ignite it. Her eyes met Jakarro's, who nodded and hurried to catch up with her as the group broke into a sprint. Broga chirped at his rider as he came up behind her, relfecting the energy that was suddenly rampid.</p><p>They found the roof access with ease. Though before they could take a step up, the Togruta held up her hand. "Stay here. You're the backup in case they can't take off in the shuttle, got it?"</p><p>Kaasha pushed herself up the stairs, not waiting for the others to respond. She had to admit her heart tightened for a moment at the whine of her reptilian companion. They couldn't let Darok and Arkous escape, not now when they caused so much damage. </p><p>The two were standing in the middle of the padded area where she could only assume ships landed from the size. The Sith scensed her first, turning to face her with a smile on his lips. He almost looked... impressed. The Colonel beside him however looked... less than amused.</p><p>"You two are done. This conspiracy ends here." She ignited her blade, resisting the urge to reach for her other one.</p><p>"My, my," Arkous laughed, the noise sending a shudder down her spine the grip on the hilt on her saber tightening. "Don't we have a very high opinion of ourselves?" The Sith was hard to read. Was he mocking her? He had to be.</p><p>"This project-" the cyborgs, she realized, feeling a wave of guilt for their deaths, "- would have excellarated our plans considerably; losing it is regretable."</p><p>Her brow twitched. "Those were living people, and all you can do is talk about them like they were mere toys in your playroom?" She snapped, her knuckled whitening from the grip on her saber; amazing she did not snap it.</p><p>"As I said- regrettable. But it will not stop us." The Colonel pulled out his blaster, ready to shoot before Arkous placed his hand delicately on the weapon.</p><p>"Now, now Darok, that is not way to speak to our guest." The Sith hummed, turning his read eyes to her. A buzz echoed in her head, feed from her comm but all she heard  was the buzz, no actual voice. Signal might be blocked. "Now you... you are strong to have made it here, and clearly intelligent to have done so with so few injuries. Tell me, if you had the chance to change the will of the force and everything around it, would you?"</p><p>His question made her pause, what? "Change the will of the force? That cannot be done." She countered but the Sith only shook his head.</p><p>"Wrong. The force can change. It will become balanced."</p><p>"...how?"</p><p>"It is simple." The grin across the Force-sensitive grew, showing sharp teeth. "We must slaughter the Emperor."</p><p>Her world froze. Trapped in her mind, a million thoughts ran through her. No, no the Emperor was dead. The team would never have returned otherwise, they even said it themselves, they struck him down. Orgus struck him down-</p><p>Her blade lowered as her head turned to stare aimlessly at the wall. She heard the buzzing in her head crackle out, hearing voices. Theron and Lana.</p><p>"-en. He's- trick-" but the feed cut out again. Those few words reached her, though she was not sure what to believe.</p><p>"No. The Emperor fell 2 months ago. Our strike team told us-"</p><p>"They merely destroyed his body. Not his soul. As long as his soul exists-" Darok rolled his eyes beside the Sith, aiming with his weapon at the Togruta who was lost in her head. </p><p>"We don't need her Arkous, she will not see reason."</p><p>"What reason is behind this? What do you plan to accomplish? Even with the Emperor gone-" she barked, taking a step forward, raising her blade in a defensive manner. "- even if you managed to kill his soul- one of the Dark Council would just replace him."</p><p>"Wrong! Our master will rise, and he will take the place of the Emperor." Arkous shouted, momentarily losing his cool, eyes blazing with rage. She felt the extent of his emotions hit her like a tital wave, her muscles tightening when it washed over her. "He will guide us into balance! He will bend the will of the Force to balance, not to compete-"</p><p>She had heard enough. Kaasha shook her head, a bitter chuckle escaping her. "No. He will take the Emperor's place and he will go mad with power. You're plan is flawed. No individual can bend the Force to their will- and certainly not your Master." She spat, baring her fangs at them. </p><p>For a few moments, they stood still, eyes daring the enemy to take the first move. Arkous drew his blade, and Darok took this sigh to shoot at Kaasha. She deflected the bolts with ease, both to the Colonel who had to duck and dodge out of the way.</p><p>Her off-hand grabbed her secondary blade, igniting it, the orange glow contrasting against her teal skin. Her grip on the hilts shifted into a reverse grip as her legs squared into a defensive stance. Her eyes shifted between the two, never remaining on one for more than a few seconds.</p><p>The odds were not in her favor, not until Broga or Jakarro showed up.</p><p>A cry brought her attention to the Sith who threw himself at her, his purple blade clashing with her green. The power blow caught her off guard from the strength, but she counter acted it by using her orange blade to support her counterweight. But she drew herself back, sliding onto her knees to spin around to block a few shots from Darok, ducking under Arkous' blade as he swung for her head.</p><p>Her goal was not to win, but to hold out for the others. They weren't far behind.</p><p>Even if they left, she would do what she could to stop at least one of them.</p><p>Leaping over Arkous' swing, she landed on the Sith's back, using his as a launching pad to throw herself at Darok, who yelped, scrambling to get out of the way. She heard the sound of Arkous hitting the floor with a gasp, focusing her attention to the Republic Military Officer. He dodged her barely, still getting nicked on the arm by her blade. Her teeth bared at him in a predatory fashion, watching the man try to regain his stance, firing at her. </p><p>The bolts were easy to deflect, opting to have them re-aimed to the walls, leaving pretty holes scattered about. She just kept stepping forward for every step he took back. A sound of a hiss diverted her eyes to Arkous, who had gotten to his knees, reachinig for his saber.</p><p>The momentary diversion was all that was needed. A metal cord wrapped around her wrist, Darok holding the other end. Using it, he flung her over hi shoulder, knocking on of the blades from her hands and deactivating the other. A dust cloud spurred up from where she landed, though she scrambled to her feet, slicing the cord from her wrist.</p><p>A growl escaped her as she called to her other saber, watching it fly across the room into her waiting hand. "Nice try," she smirked. Instead of swinging her saber at him directly, she opted for a leap-frog approach, jumping from side to side to avoid blaster fire and to look for an opening. Seeing the side to side approach didn't work, she flipped over him, slashing his back, ignoring his cry of pain. Her foot came and struck him in the back of the knee, bringing the man to the ground. Taking the opening she kicked the blaster from his hands as far as she could, about 10 feet before-</p><p>She threw her offhand saber up in defense as a purple saber was thrown at her, much like a boomerang. Kaasha watched the blade spin as it returned to it's owner, whose red eyes shifted to his fallen ally. Despite his composure, she felt the anger already radiating from him amplify. Her grip shifted, looking for a better adjustment, eyes never leaving the Sith who paced back and forth, swinging his blade in his hand.</p><p>It was a stand-off. She could not stand up to a full sith, but she also stood between him and his injured ally. </p><p>Before either of them could make a move, the Sith flipped himself around to deflect a blaster shot. A trill caught her ear and she nearly sagged with relief. Broga!</p><p>The varacytl called out, his mane puffed out, with Jakarro shortly behind, crossbow in hand.</p><p>"That's right! It's us!" D4 called from across the room. The Wookiee took another shot at the Sith, shouting at him.</p><p><em>"You will regret betraying us!"</em> Seeing her moment, she threw herself forward, slashing her blade at the Sith, who blocked her with ease, holding against her strength (or lack of) with a single arm. Her feet shifted beside her, twisting her away, leaving the sith with nothing to push against, catching him off guard for a fraction of a moment.</p><p>She thought it was all she needed, but in the end it was he who took advantage of the moment, using his momentum to slam against her blades. His leg came up between them and kicked her away to block the blaster fire that bounced off his armor to redirect it back at the Wookiee. </p><p>Broga let out a trill and sprinted over to her, unknowingly drawing attention to his rider. she pushed herself up and ran towards her mount, hand reaching-</p><p>A hot pain. It started as a small prick, but then spread like a wild fire across her shoulder, making the Jedi yelp and fall forward from the force, landing harshly against Broga, who whined when his rider fell against his, face contorted in pain. </p><p>The lizard's eyes shifted to the fallen enemy, who had crawled to reach his blaster, which was now aimed at them. He fired another shot, this time at the lizard who had focused it's attack on him, but when he went to pull the trigger, he found his hand unable to move.</p><p>The injured togruta held up her good arm, hand tensed in a gesture, likely using the force to prevent him from harming the varacytl, who continued to charge him with a loud cry.</p><p>She let go of her hold of him when she saw Broga grab the Colonel with his beak, then flinging the man back into the ground, then the wall, hissing with his quills puffed out.</p><p>Jakarro's cry caught her attention, bringing her eyes to see her companion loosing space between him and the Sith.</p><p>Kaasha's eyes looked around, spotting her sabers and grabbing them, before booking it with all her speed towards Arkous. At the last moment she ignited the blades, alerting the Sith but it was too late. She dug the blade across his chest, up to his neck, using his weight to cushion her impact. When the Pure-Blood fell, so did she, rolling off her, crying out when she landed on her bad shoulder.</p><p>When she peaked her eyes open, they caught sight of his saber, and within a moment, the hilt was cut in half the crystal exposed, before she stomped her foot on it, shattering the purple gem into tiny pieces. She turned her body, and blade to face Arkous, who was cluthing his chest, gasping in his final breathes... before he went limp. </p><p>Despite knowing the pain he caused, she still offered him a moment of silence, before turning to Darok, who was still being roughed around by Broga. Holding up her fingers to her mouth, she whistled sharply. The varactyl dropped the Colonel and hurried over to her, nudging her injured shoulder with his beak lightly, a clicking coming from his throat. She gently ran a hand over his mane, cooing to calm him down, before proceeding to Darok, who, though injured, was not dying. At least there was one for questioning.</p><p>"You..." The threat died in the man's throat when she pointed her saber at him, the tip mere inches from his neck.</p><p>"Colonel Darok. On behalf of the Galatic Republic, I am taking you in. You will be stripped of rank and procesuted for your crimes against the Republic." She spoke in as stern a voice as she could with her head pounding and an aching shoulder. Darok merely smiled, his teeth red. Signs of internal bleeding.</p><p>The Colonel held up a syringe, filled with a clear liquid. "Not so fast, Jedi. We will not give up so easily." He stabbed himself with the needle, draining the liquid, now a poison, she realized, into his bloodstream. He cackled at her, coughing, blood dripping down his chin until the man's body convulsed, and he was still. She swore and paced a few steps, a hand coming up to rub at her chin in frutration.</p><p>Great. No one to question. Unless they left clues, there was nothing to go off of. Nothing.</p><p>Jakarro was clearly happy to have both of them dead, feeling the joy radiating from him. It made her almost more annoyed that he didn't understand the severity of the situation, or simply didn't care. Breathing in through her nose, she allowed her body to relax with her exhale. Bending down, she scooped up the blaster in her hand, clipping it awkwardly to her belt. One thing about being friends with a SIS agent taught her, never leave weapons for others to pick up.</p><p>As soon as the thought crossed her mind, her hand shot up to the com near her face, but there was nothing to greet her besides static. Her eyes shifted till they spotted the console of by one of the walls. There was always a communicator build into those, even one as old as it was. She left Jakarro and D4 to their victory, hand running across Broga's beak on her way over.</p><p>It took her a moment to get it running, but she managed to secure a connection, finding herself face to face with a digitalized Theron pacing in front of Lana who was in a chair.</p><p>"Where have you been!?" His voice snapped at her, his gloved hands coming to rest of his hips.</p><p>"Hey, it's not my fault there's a signal jammer." She replied hotly, crossing her own arms. Throwing a glance over her shoulder, she continued. "Got news on Arkous and Darok. They're dead. We had to kill Arkous in self-defense and Darok killed himself. He said he wouldn't allow any secrets to escape the planet." She huffed, delivering the bad news, watching Lana's brows furrow.</p><p>"Blast it." Theron cursed under his breath, but she still heard it.</p><p>A hand ran over her shoulder and she winced. Right, shot. The adrenaline was beginning to wear off and she felt the pain. It was dull for now, and she hoped it would remain so until they found some kolto.</p><p>"Who cares what they could have said?" Jakarro barked from behind her. "They were liars!"</p><p>"I must agree with my Master. They're much more trustowrthy as corpses," D4 agreed. It made her crack a smile for a moment, but a tingling in the back of her head made her turn around.</p><p>Her stomach dropped.</p><p>"Crap."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So, yeah. I did kill the cyborgs (I felt horrible) but I knew if I didn't I'd kill them anyways, because they'd be alerted. But my guilty conscious would not leave me alone until like 2 hours later. </p><p>I did a lot of questionable shit in SOR, but then, I also adored Lana and wanted to be her friend while romancing Theron. Very hard.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Pretending</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Kaasha waits for the signal</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>A hand ran over her shoulder and she winced. Right, shot. The adrenaline was beginning to wear off and she felt the pain. It was dull for now, and she hoped it would remain so until they found some kolto.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Who cares what they could have said?" Jakarro barked from behind her. "They were liars!"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I must agree with my Master. They're much more trustowrthy as corpses," D4 agreed. It made her crack a smile for a moment, but a tingling in the back of her head made her turn around.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Her stomach dropped.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Crap."</em>
</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>"What? What is it?" Lana called from the holo comm that was now behind her. Kaasha's entire body twisted to face away from them, staring up at the sky. A large Dreadnought had entered the atmosphere, looming above the temple. Two more followed, one clearly Republic and the other Imperial. </p><p>"Unless you both called in renforcements we got a new problem." She shot over her shoulder. She felt a weight on her head, a presence. It was unlike any she had felt before- no this one was powerful, and filled with hate, pain. And yet there was a calm serenity about the signature, one she did not yet understand. </p><p>Behind her, Theron pulled out a datapad, clicking away while shouting at her through the frequency. "Multiple sensor contact- Capital ships dropping out of hyperspace. They're coming in hot!"</p><p>Before he finished a large holo image appeared before them of a figure in a hooded cloak. A mask covered their face. A familiar mask that she remembered seeing in her teaching at the temple. "Revan." The figured nodded, but without being able to see the man's face, it was hard to tell what he felt. All she could feel from him was rage and hatred.</p><p>The voice spoke. "Darok and Arkous were valuable allies in my cause. But their deaths will <em>not</em> delay what is coming." The shadow of the ship loomed over them ominously. Immediately, her eyes started searching for a way out that wouldn't take them back through the temple. Running the way they came would be too dangerous. The temple could be attacked and they'd be buried alive. Jumping was out of the question. No water to land into, and the impact from the height would kill Jakarro for certain, and the chances were still high for her.</p><p>From the corner of her vision, she caught the sight of something yellow. Switching to look in that direction, she saw a shuttle. Probably the one Arkous and Darok were going to use in their escape. She nudged Jakarro and subtly motioned to the shuttle. The wookiee saw the small ship and gave her a nod. The figure - Revan - turned to face them. "My infinite army could have accomplished so much, but, I still have other weapons in my arsenal."</p><p>"You're looking good- for a person thought to be dead for 300 years." She spoke, gathering the force-users attention, allowing Jakarro to slip towards the shuttle, herding Broga with him, though the varacytl paused often to look back to see if his rider was following. She was, but slow enough that it would not cross Revan's mind that she was trying to escape.</p><p>Revan chuckled. "When a goal is important enough," he paused for a moment. "One learns to <em>overcome</em> any obstacle." From the corner of her eye she saw her allies had made it to the shutle, opening the hartch to climb in. When Revan finished his little speech, his image disappeared. The Temple began to shake under her feet.</p><p>"They're powering up weapons- get out of there!" Theron's voice sounded far away, as it was. As soon as she felt the tremors she booked it to the shuttle, fast enough that she was beginning to trip over herself. The shuttle powered up just as she threw herself through the door, finding the small space cramped with the giant lizard along with the wookiee taking up most of it. It was an uncomfortable position, but she let out a sigh of relief as they left the ground, putting the temple far behind them.</p><p>She watched from the back window as the ships gunned it down, bringing the ancient tower to a crumbling heap of dust. Anyone within the vicinity would be killed. They were not among them.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>They didn't have time to meet up aboard the ship, more and more of Revan's ship were jumping out of hyper-space. They had to leave as quickly as possible. Rakata wasn't safe, for anyone. </p><p>Through the shaky connection from the crappy shuttle, they agreed to meet back on Manaan. It would be a short trip, but given the lack of space or anything to divert their attention, Kaasha could only let her mind wander. </p><p>She didn't realize she had fallen asleep until she felt a furry hand harshly poke her cheek. A groan escaped her throat, opening her eyes to see Jakarro frowning at her, telling her to move out of the shuttle so everyone could. Glancing out the window she was greeted by the sight of blue. A blue sky colliding with a dark ocean was enough to tell her they were there.</p><p>Her joints popped and ached as she slid out, coaxing Broga after her, who seemed unaware of the space he was taking up. If anything, he seemed livelier to be off the shuttle, and from the nap they took. It warmed her heart to see her companion was unharmed, and she ran a hand over his beak, cooing to him. THe varacytl pushed back into her hand, a trill escaping the reptile.</p><p>Once Jakarro was out, they headed to the building where they agreed to meet with the others. </p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>The two of them were discussing, and they seemed very grim, up until they spotted the two aliens entering the room. Lana's shoulders slumped ever so slightly with what she assumed was relief- who knows, it could've been disappointment- and she saw Theron show some rare emotion as his face lit up. It put a spring in her step as her speed increased. When she got close enough, a hand reach out- to do what she wasn't sure- but she stopped, letting the limp fall to her side. </p><p>Her eyes fell to the side, biting her lip. "I'm glad to see you're- both of you-" she looked at Lana with a small smile "- safe. I know we talked but I still worried."</p><p>"Glad to see you're still in one piece." Theron spoke. His eyes were warm as they looked at her, and she suddenly felt nervous. "It's a good look for-"</p><p>"What are you talking about? I'm hardly in one piece." D4 interrupted but the comment made her bark out a laugh rather than roll her eyes in annoyance. Though she saw Theron do the latter. </p><p>"<em>Turn off your speech processor droid, before one piece is all that's left,</em>" Jakarro grumbled, and she hid her snicker behind a hand covering her mouth. </p><p>"Well thank you, Theron- I must say one piece is a good look for you too," she chuckled, her eyes closed, leaving her unable to notice the color that spread through her friend's face. She only noticed when D4 commented on it, that indeed, he had a small flush to his face, one that grew deeper after the droid spoke up. </p><p>"We're gonna- Jakarro and I... and the droid, we're leaving now so you can- we're leaving." The man walked swiftly past her, Jakarro and D4 following at a slower pace.</p><p>"What the heck was that?" She said after they disappeared around the corner. </p><p>"I was hoping you could tell me." The sith responded, an almost amused gleam to her yellow eyes.</p><p>"Meaning?"</p><p>"You know Theron far better than I."</p><p>"Sure, but he's never really... caught off guard like that."</p><p>Lana raised a brow. "Perhaps he is fond of you."</p><p>"Hmmm... - I'm sorry?" She shook her head with a smile. "We're friends. I'd hope he was fond of me, otherwise that wouldn't be much of a friendship."</p><p>"I suppose," the sith blinked for a moment then shook her head. "Regardless, we're not here to talk about that. I am truly relieved to see you are unharmed, for the most part," Lana glanced to her shoulder. It still stung but some kolto and a bandage did wonders. Just had to avoid being shot for a few days and she'd be right as rain. "I wish we had more time-"</p><p>"What do you mean?" She assumed it had to do with Revan, obviously, but the way the Sith spoke, like it was a goodbye worried her. "Are we leaving?"</p><p>"No- Theron and I learned some... disturbing things after we escaped Rakata Prime-" her eyes darted behind her. Kaasha turned and saw Theron approaching them, Jakarro and D4 not in sight.</p><p>"Have," her friend met her eyes then looked away, brow furrowed. "Have you told her yet?"</p><p>"I figured it would be better for you to, seeing how close you too are." Lana explained, waving a hand between the two of them. Then the Sith met the Jedi's gaze and offered a smile. "We'll see each other again, I'm certain." The click of her boots as she walked away echoed in the room, which soon filled with silence once the Sith had disappeared.</p><p>"Were you going to leave without saying goodbye?" She whispered, looking at the ground. A sigh answered her, coaxing her to look at his face instead of the floor.</p><p>"No we- Lana's got a bounty on her head for the murder of Darth Arkous." He explained. Kaasha just tiled her head in confusion. </p><p>"Don't sith get promoted when they kill their master?"</p><p>"Normally yes. Jakarro also has 12 separate death marks for Jakarro- a new record I'm told."</p><p>Her own brow furrowed as her arms crossed against her chest. "And you?"</p><p>"Disavowed rogue agent: apprehend on sight." His hands found their way to his hips, a small smirk on his lips. "Pretty tame, compared to the others. Marcus might've stepped up for me."</p><p>"Truly, you're a dangerous man to be around," she chuckled, walking to stand next to him, leaning against the table.</p><p>His smirk grew, but then his eyes darked. "And that's why I have to go."</p><p>"Why aren't I coming with you?"</p><p>Theron shook his head, eyes looking conflicted. "I wish you could, but the Revanites haven't been able to touch you yet. They don't know who you are- you had zero connections to Arkous or Darok they could track. So you're clean. No one knows you were involved. And... and I'd like it to stay that way for as long as it can."</p><p>Kaasha sighed, placing her hands behind her on the table. "Theron, I'm not a child who needs protection. I know you worry, but I worry too. I know you can take care of yourself but-" Her hand reached out for his, a rare sign of affection they allowed themselves.</p><p>"I know." He took hers in his, holding on tight. "Lana, Jakarro and D4, and I are going off grid. We need to stay hidden to continue investigating."</p><p>"You can't even tell me where you're going?" She frowned. </p><p>"Considering we're not sure where to even start... no." His thumb rubbed over the back of her palm, almost hesitantly. "The best you can do is go back to your life as usual. Make it hard for the Revanites to pin you to anything. If I learn anything, I'll contact you."</p><p>She gave his hand a light squeeze. "Okay." For a moment there was silence until she spoke again. "Do you think it was really him?"</p><p>"You mean has my ancient ancestor returned from the grave to kill us all? Not sure. But there was something about him." He got a distant look in his eyes for a moment before he shook himself out of it. He pushed himself up, letting go of her hand as he did so, dusting himself off as he seemingly readied himself to go undercover. This time, however, it was from his own people.</p><p>"Hey, be careful." She spoke, surprising herself when she threw her arms around his shoulders, tugging him into a tight hug. His arms seemed awkward as they tried to find a place for themselves on her hips, but she ignored it, pulling back as soon as she initiated it. "And don't die. Or I'll bring you mother."</p><p>"For the sake of everything the force hold sacred, please, do not get my mom involved." He shook his head, exasperated, but there was a small smile on his lips. "I don't know when I'll see you next but... don't get into too much trouble."</p><p>"I think from this we both know that trouble usually finds me." She hummed, clasping her hands beside her, walking next to him as they left the room for what would be the last time.</p><p> </p><hr/><p> </p><p>There was no word or hint for nearly 2 months. </p><p>Immediately after she had separated from them, she returned to Tython to continue her studies, while also learning what she could about Revan. Not that there was much to go off of. Just a picture or a paragraph. Little more.</p><p>Soon as she stepped foot in the temple, the Grandmaster was on her like glue. Despite her natural awareness, enhanced by her force-sensitivity, the older woman managed to get the jump on her in the library.</p><p>
  <em>"Where have you been the last few days? I began to worry when no one had heard from you."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Oh..." she looked away, setting down the datapad to her side. "Something came up... I needed to get away."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>Satele's eyes softened for a fraction of a second before her Jedi composure resumed itself across her features. "It's Orgus, isn't it?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>The Togruta nodded, accepting the answer the Jedi Master had provided for her, rather than trying to find one for herself. "I just... I miss him. I was on Coruscant, and I... I went to the memorial for the fallen." Clearly she had been friends with Theron too long with how easily the lie slipped off her tongue. "I took Broga and we went to Utapau. To relive some happier times."</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I hope that it was a worth while trip. I know... I know that loosing your Master is hard, but it is good to see you are not letting your emotions loud your judgement." A hand rested on her shoulder briefly, and the younger Jedi felt a surge of affection for the human woman. </em>
</p><p>
  <em>Her chest tightened when she spoke, knowing she was treading on dangerous ground. But they were alone, no one to hear them. "I heard about Theron." She whispered, seeing the Grandmaster's stance stiffen ever so slightly. "How... how are you doing?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"He and I... you know we do not speak often. That we are not close, due to circumstances," massive understatment but she held her tongue, "though it was disheartening to hear what had happened. The Commander is furious." She added, refering to Theron's father. While she had never personally met him, she had learned about it through Theron when he found out. To say he was annoyed was like saying a thunderstorm was a sprinkle.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"I saw him, before... you know." Blue eyes looked to her face, searching, as if she did not believe her for a moment.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Ah. Yes. I remember you two are close. When... when did you see him?"</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"Just after the attack on Tython. We met up for a drink- and he said he had a bad feeling and was going on a new mission- then next thing you know..." She drew it out, unable to think of a solid way to continue on.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"And he said nothing more?" She shook her head. Her stomach twisted; she didn't want to lie to Theron's mother, let her know that her son, Kaasha's best friend, was okay and was searching into something that would affect the galaxy... but she had promised she wouldn't say a word.</em>
</p><p>
  <em>"No. He didn't."</em>
</p><p>She spent a few weeks back at the temple, and on Tython, training more. Due to a request she had made, she had been training more in hand-to-hand combat, opting for something less lethal than her lightsabers. And on the off chance she would need to defend herself and she had no weapons to avail. It wasn't much different than her fighting style, allowing her to pick it up quickly. </p><p>Kaasha was not strong, but she made up for it in her smaller size and speed. Orgus had tried to improve her strength, but they found her style was more adept to speed and agility rather than brute force. In the end her training focused on fighting stronger and bigger opponents- they never finished.</p><p>2 days ago, she had requested to go to Coruscant. When asked why, she was unsure how to answer at first. But then came up with an excuse of wanting to see how the investigation for Theron was going. Satele must've wanted to learn more about her son's condition, because she approved it without much time for thought. </p><p>And now, she was in space. Alone. Well, not alone, she had T7 and Broga. But it was quiet. The unnerving kind, like something was just around the corner or she was flying through an astroid field. </p><p>A beep as heard. It was soft and muffled. To a human ear, it would not have been heard, but her montrals were able to hear it from farther away. Pushing herself up from the floor, where she had been meditating, Kaasha moved to find the source of the noise. Her bare feet tapped the floor, the only sound in the ship. T7 was downstairs near the engines while Broga was in the cargo hold. </p><p>The beep sounded again, this time louder. Hitting the button, the door to her room slid open, revealing her room. It was messier than most Jedi's, cloths thrown throughout the room, but it was still tidy save for that one detail.</p><p>Her datapad was lit up, so she scooped up the device in her hands, unlocking it. A new message. </p><p>Unknown sender.</p><p>A grin grew on her face and she opened the message, expecting a long explanation of what had been happening the past two months- no. Just one word. Rishi.</p><p>The hell was Rishi?</p><p>Clearly, it was a name, but she was a bit unsure if it was the name of a person or a planet. Probably a planet, unless it was an alias. He needed to give more than that.</p><p>She groaned, a hand pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration. "Dammit Theron. I need more than this." Spinning on her heels the Jedi made her way to the engine room. Upon opening the door around the corner and trotting down the stairs, she saw T7 powered down. Lying the datapad on the table next to the droid, she knelt down and ran a hand fondly over his dome. "Hey, Tee. I need your help, hun." Within a few moments Tee beeped, powering himself up from his 'nap' as she referred to them. "Sorry to disturb you. I need some help."</p><p>"What = needs help?"</p><p>"Do your databanks have anything on 'Rishi'?" She asked, resting her arms on her knees as she waited patiently for an answer.</p><p>"Rishi = Planet + Outer Rim. Why + know this?"</p><p>"Theron sent me a message-" T7 let out a noise of joy, making the Togruta smile. The droid was as fond of the human as she. "Yeah, he sent me a message, with just the word Rishi. So... guess we're going to Rishi. Come on, I'll drive, and while you do that, see what you can find about this planet, yeah?" She hummed, giving the droid a pat on his dome when he gave her the affirmative. </p><p>Still clad in nothing but a tank top and shorts, she made her way to the cockpit, Tee on her heels. </p><p>"Do you think we'll see him there or is he sending us on an errand so Spy Boy doesn't get caught?" She spoke aloud as she powered up the ship, setting coordinates for hyperspace.</p><p>"Jedi + T7 = errand boys. Theron = paranoid."</p><p>"Yeah, you're not wrong."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I have no frigging clue how to do droid talk XD</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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